The Search for 12: To Help a Sage and a Friend
by Kokiri7656
Summary: Condensed. After seeing a disturbing vision, Link ponders Saria's life as a sage. My first try. PLEASE R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Five years...its been much to...

Author's Note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Ides of Diamonds, Mihaele Rose, and the other countless authors whose works I've read since May. This may be the only fic you see from me (90% original), but I'm in the mood to write something. I'd like to give credit to Post Rapture, Juliet and Kirstey Singleton, Ides of Diamonds, and any other author whose original characters or excerpts from their stories I may have used. The last thing I want to do is step on any toes.  
  
And PLEASE!!! Read and Review!!!  
  
Chapter 1/Introduction  


A storm. A large storm had struck; the wind was blowing at high speeds. Trees were nearly blown off their roots, while lightning shot down from above. Yes, it was dark in the forest that night. Storms of that magnitude hadn't been seen since the Imprisoning War. But the storm was a perfect reflection of the mood inside the Forest Temple that night. Inside the vast temple was emptiness. Not a living soul inhabited the large temple, but one. It was that of Saria, the Sage of the Forest. She was sitting atop a bridge high above a garden that seemed to open to the sky on the second floor. It had been five years since the Imprisoning War ended and Saria began living her new life as the Forest Sage, which unfortunately meant eternity guarding the Forest Temple.

She found herself crying that night, much like every night for the last five years. She never got out of the temple. With the exceptions of her friends, Post Rapture and DoomRater, she never had any visitors. She cherished every moment they were around by telling them stories of her past, and she had quite an adventurous past.

But that night, a reality dawned on her. She was a Kokiri, and as a Kokiri she was destined to have a long lifespan. She nearly went insane surviving lonely nights in the Forest Temple for five years, but she would be guarding this place for at least the next 500 years. Saria couldn't take that and as much as she wished for it to be so, she knew that Post Rapture and DoomRater wouldn't be around to keep her company in 100 years. That night, she questioned her existence. "Is this really worth it?" she said to herself, "Does it really matter if I live or die?! Link was right! It isn't worth it! No one's going to invade to stupid temple! And as far as I'm concerned, my life ended five years ago!!!" With that Saria stood up. She looked down on the ground, which had to be at least 70 feet below her…and jumped.

And then…everything went black…

Chapter 2  


Link suddenly woke up and nearly screamed at the dream he just had. What had he just seen? Did he really see what he thought he saw? Link, covered in sweat, got to his feet. He knew there was no storm. It was a clear night at Lon Lon Ranch, so Link decided to go outside. He stepped out quietly, hoping not to wake a sleeping Malon. He went downstairs and heard something he could have sworn was a cross between a roaring Dodongo and a growling Goron. Of course it was just Talon, whose snoring was loud enough to wake the dead. Link smiled, knowing that even if he tripped and knocked over the stack of Lon Lon milk bottles in the corner it wouldn't wake Talon, the deepest sleeper he knew. He opened the door and walked over behind the corral and sat down.

He couldn't get the disturbing image out of his head. A despondent Saria, jumping to her death. Committing suicide. It couldn't be possible. Saria was Link's childhood friend and one of the strongest people Link ever knew in his entire life. Was she so overcome by the loneliness of the Forest Temple that she actually took her own life? Link hadn't seen the young Forest Sage since the Imprisoning War, when they parted ways. She told him that they could no longer be friends, and Link was crushed. He was so depressed at that moment that he never noticed the look of pain in Saria's eyes. He never noticed how much it pained her to be saying goodbye to the boy she raised in Kokiri Forest.

"I told her," Link said to himself. "I told her she would regret it." He remembers telling Saria that she would live a lonely existence if she chose to become the Sage of the Forest. But she did it to protect everyone in her village, his village too. She did it to save Hyrule and ensure Hyrule had a future. She did it for Link. She sacrificed herself so that Link may finish his quest. A quest Link never wanted in the first place.

"Told who?"

Link turned around and saw that he was no longer alone. "Hey Malon. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I thought I was by myself."

The young farm girl sat beside Link and looked into his eyes. Malon knew Link practically her whole life. She met Link when she was ten. Then Link spent seven years in the Sacred Realm in preparation for the fight against the King of Evil, Ganondorf. He came back and won Epona from Ingo and won back the ranch for her and her father, Talon. And she remembers Link saving her from a thrashing at the hands of Ingo shortly after Epona was taken. When the Imprisoning War ended, Link was sent back to live his life at age ten, but so did Malon. Link and Malon couldn't explain how it happened, and didn't really care. What mattered was that they were together. And she knew Link long enough to know when he was troubled.

"Is something wrong Link? Who were you talking about?" Malon looked at Link who was just looking at the sky.

"I…I…I don't want to talk about it." Link honestly didn't know how to describe what he saw in his dream.

"Link, something's bothering you. Haven't we known each other long enough to be able to talk about anything?" Seeing the Hero of Time in the dazed state he was in couldn't help but bother Malon.

"I had a…dream. It was more of a nightmare." Once again, Link saw the image that horrified him do much. He saw Saria, a look of futility in her eyes, ready to commit suicide. And he honestly didn't know if it was too late. Was it a vision of the future? Or was it a vision of something that already happened? "I saw Saria, the girl who raised me back in the forest. She looked…sad…more than sad…she looked hopeless…suicidal. And she jumped off a bridge. She killed herself."

Malon felt embarrassed at that moment. She didn't remember completely who Saria was. She remembered Link talking about her that one night during the Imprisoning War, when Link spilled his guts about pretty much everything he was feeling. But she did remember that Saria was the one who raised Link and was just about the only one in the forest who didn't treat Link like a freak.

Link continued. "It looked so real. Like she really wanted to end it all right there. I told her. Malon, I told her!!!"

"What did you tell her? What are you talking about?" Malon saw that Link was now shaking. She saw an unchanging expression of sorrow on his face, almost as if he were mourning.

"I told her not to take that life. I told her she would regret it. I told her that living that life would be torture for her." Again, Link saw the image of Saria jumping off the bridge.

Malon was getting nervous and frustrated. She didn't grasp what Link was saying, and she couldn't help him if she didn't know the problem. "What life? What did she do?"

Link looked at Malon and saw a look of worry and confusion. "She became the Forest Sage. She became one of the seven sages who helped banish Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm."

Malon looked even more lost. "Is that bad? That sounds pretty good to me. I'd love to go down as one of the legendary sages who helped save Hyrule."

"You don't understand," Link said. "By becoming a sage, she's forced to spend her life guarding the Forest Temple. With no one around, no one to talk to, for as long as she lives."

Malon began to realize what Link was saying. She remembered Link saying how Kokiri never grew up and always kept the appearance of a child through their entire lives. But they also had the emotions of a child. The thought of a lifetime of solitude almost made Malon's heart wrench. "I guess it is pretty bad. Having to live about 50 or 60 years being lonely in a dark old temple."

"Try 500 years. Kokiri have longer lifespans than Hylians. By the time our grandchildren are running Hyrule, she'll still be in that temple without a friend in the world." Unless she killed herself. Once again, Link saw Saria leaping to her death. Link tried desperately to put that image out of his head.

"And you saw her committing suicide? How awful. She must truly be at the end of her rope to think about suicide. I mean…endless nights of being alone would make anyone want to kill themselves." Malon saw Link shaking a little more and began to think she was making things worse.

Link tried hard to relax. "I don't know why I saw that. She's probably the strongest person I've ever known. I mean there are lots of times I can remember when she showed such spirit and bravery."

Malon thought that now would be the time to ask more about Saria. She even thought the sharing of a fond memory might help Link to calm down. "Really? Why don't you tell me about one?"

Chapter 3  


Link wasn't expecting Malon to actually ask about one of his experiences with Saria. But there are plenty of moments he can remember off the top of his head. "Well, there was this one time…"

* * *

"Link, what are you doing?"

Saria turned away from her fishing pole and looked at the five-year old Link, who was staring at an anthill. Saria had always gone looking for crawfish, but lately she hasn't seen a bite. She found it easier to stick the pole in the ground, rather than hold it herself.

"Looking at all the ants, Sissy." Link had a look of child-like amazement at all the tiny creatures wandering back and forth from the little hill.

"Link, how many times do I have to tell you? My name's Saria, not Sissy. Call me Saria!" Saria had this argument with the young boy all the time. For some odd reason, he loved to call her Sissy.

"Sissy, nyah!!!" Link sat there sticking his tongue out. Saria only sighed and could only smile. That's when she heard something. It was her fishing pole and it looked like the crawfish were actually biting today. She went to the pole and indeed pulled out a crawfish that she thought had to weigh at least ten pounds. She couldn't wait to bring this back, especially since the other Kokiri often made fun of her never catching anything.

"Link, wait here. I just need to find a place to put this." Saria ran into her house leaving Link alone with his anthill. And no sooner did she leave…

"Where're my guay eggs, squirt?!"

That was the unmistakable voice of Mido, the boss of the Kokiri. No one could actually explain why he was the boss of the Kokiri, and no one could explain how he managed to remain boss for so long. Mido's power was never challenged, except on rare occasions by Dore, one of the Know-It-All brothers. But Mido had always been able to remain on top and make himself look superior. He especially made it a point to prove he was greater than young Link, whom Mido hated because he always had the attention of Saria.

"Well? Answer me?" Mido approached Link with a menacing look. He walked up to Link and stood on his anthill, crushing it into a mere mound of dirt.

Mido was in one of his bad moods and Link didn't want to add to it by making a big deal out of the crushed anthill. "Uh…they're right here, Mido." Link reached for the basket of eggs behind him and presented them to Mido. "Three dozen, just like you wanted."

Mido yanked the basket from Link's hands and began counting. When he was done, he counted 37. "Enough to feed the entire village…and you, I guess." Mido held the extra egg in his hand. "Hmm…but there seems to be one extra…Oh, I'm sorry, shrimp. How could I be so rude, did you want to keep one of these eggs?"

"Uh…ok." Link stood up and saw Mido's trademark evil eye and a mischievous grin cross his face. Mido removed Link's hat and squashed the egg on his head and put the hat back on.

"You asked for it. FREAK!!!" Mido began to walk off when he heard a feminine scream.

"It could only be Fala," said an approaching Dore with a tone of cynicism in his voice. "Our resident cucco." Fala's scream was followed by another scream. It was from Miso, who was running right towards them. Mido stopped him in his tracks.

"What's going on? What's got you so spooked?" Miso stopped long enough to answer Mido's question in one word.

"WOLFOS!!! It's heading this way."

A wolfos attack wasn't common around the village, but when it did happen, it left everyone in a state of mass panic.

"What do we do?" asked Link, with a cracked voice and a look of fear on his young face.

"Up here!" came a voice from above. It was the voice of Mira, the young recluse. She could always be found standing atop her perch above the village. No one knew why she was always there, and they all decided it was better to not ask.

"Everyone on the perch!" Mido shouted. Everyone in the village began running towards the high perch on which Mira was standing. Miso, Fala, Ralo, Somi, Rala, Domi, Dore, Dila, Sofa, Sodo, and Saria all at once stampeded towards the safety up above. Mido himself then began to run towards the perch…knocking down Link in the process, leaving him a sitting duck for the ravaging wolfos.

"Is everybody here?" asked Mido in a panic.

"We're all here," answered Dila.

"Great, how do we get our weapons from up here?" asked Dore. They all knew the weapons were stored near Mido's house.

"Use bait," said Sofa, the youngest of the Know-It-All brothers.

"What, or who, are you going to use as bait?" asked Rala.

"Link," blurted out Miso. He was the first to notice Link was still down there, now being approached by the angry wolfos. 

"He's trapped."

"No way he's getting out."

"Scratch one freak."

Saria's face was full of horror at the sight of Link being approached by the horrible beast, and looked right at Mido.

"How could you leave him down there?! He'll be killed!" Saria looked down and could barely make out the look terror on Link.

"Oh well, so we're minus one freak. Big loss. Nobody cares about the little shrimp anyway," said Mido.

Saria fumed at that comment and felt like pushing Mido off the perch herself. But she knew she had to help Link. "Oh yeah? I care about him. And I'm not just gonna let him die." And Saria quickly jumped down from the perch and ran towards Link, who was backing the creature close to the lake.

Link soon found that he was out of land and had nowhere to go. Then the wolfos made his move. He howled and leaped towards him.

"LINK, NO!!!!!" Saria dove and pushed Link out of the way and was taken down by the large wolfos. Her shoulders were pinned to the ground by the arms of the hairy beast. She could smell the unbearable breath of the drooling monster, ready to move in for the kill.

ZING!

But it was the Know-It-All brothers who struck first. The distraction was enough for them to run into Mido's house. They were able to launch a barrage of arrows at the wolfos before he could make the final move. The beast fell to his side, allowing Saria to get up.

Dore spoke first. "Is it dead?"

Miso poked the wolfos with a deku stick and saw no movement. "Yeah, it's dead."

Mido went straight to Link and pushed him to the ground. "You stupid freak!!! You could have gotten her killed! Why couldn't you just die?!" Mido had a murderous glint in his eye when he reached for the basket of guay eggs that was sitting next to his house. "When are you going to understand that you're not one of us and you never will be?" He took the basket and splattered the eggs on Link's head. "NOW GO GET ME MORE GUAY EGGS, FREAK!!!"

Link literally had egg on his face. He could see the guys, and even some of the girls, laughing at him. He wanted to run home and cry, but was stopped by a friendly face.

"Are you ok?" Saria asked softly. She had a gash on her forehead from the bump with the wolfos, but it didn't look too bad. But Link, even in his infantile state of mind, couldn't understand why Saria risked her life to save the life of the village freak.

"Sissy…you saved my life." Those were the only words to come out of Link at that moment. He didn't know what else to say. Well, there was one more word. "Why?"

Saria almost looked shocked. "Why? Link, you're my friend. Friends stick by each other. I would've gladly put my life on the line to help you or anyone else in the village."

Link still looked sad. "But I'm just a freak. Why would anyone want to save me?"

That got Saria angry. Not angry at Link, but angry at creeps like Mido who only try to put Link down. "Link, don't listen to Mido. Or for that matter, anyone else who calls you a freak. You are not a freak. You're just different. No, not different. You're special. And someday, you'll fly higher than Mido ever wished he could."

Those words made Link feel better and relieved some of the pain. The physical pain of having three dozen eggs cracked on your skull remained, but the emotional pain was gone.

"Come on, Link. Let's get you cleaned up." Saria took Link's hand and led him to her house.

  
Chapter 4  


Link continued to look up at the sky. "I never forgot that day, Malon. Saria put her life on the line for me, when everyone else in the village would have left me for dead."

Malon saw that Link was beginning to relax more. He stopped shaking and didn't have the fear in his voice she heard in him when she came out. Malon hoped to ease his anxiety a little more and hoped to learn a little more about the young girl Link grew up with. "Can you remember anything else?"

Link thought for a while and finally said, "Hmm, I do remember…"

* * *

"ORDER! ORDER!" shouted Mido, over the raucous Kokiri.

"I'll have a boiled Deku Scrub and a bucket of fried cucco," blurted Miso. The room laughed.

"You know that's not what I meant," said Mido angrily. After the sudden wolfos attack, Mido thought it would be a good night to call a meeting at the house of the Know-It-All brothers. Everyone else didn't exactly feel the same way.

"Ok then, I 'order' you to end this meeting," said Dore loudly. Again, everyone laughed.

"HEY! That's not what I meant either. I called this meeting for a reason, you know," Mido shouted.

Dila spoke up next. "Why? To bore us to death?"

Mido let out a quiet cry of frustration. "NO! We just had a wolfos attack."

"Ooh. He's got a firm grasp of the obvious," said Ralo.

"Yeah," added Sofa. "Next, he'll be telling us that Link's a freak." The room laughed, except for…

"Hey, don't pick on Link," said Saria. She looked down at Link, who got that sad look again. "He's just a kid."

"Aren't we all?" shouted Dila. Everyone laughed again.

Saria thought about what she just said. "No, that's not what I meant…"

"QUIET!!!" yelled Mido. The room grew eerily silent. "Have we all forgotten why we're here?" he continued. "We just had a wolfos attack and we need to make sure that we prevent any future attacks. As the boss of this village, I say we begin preparing for any future incidents."

Dore spoke up. "What incidents? This is the first wolfos attack we've had in years. I think you're just looking for a way to make yourself look good."

"Yeah," said Rala, who was standing beside Domi. She was one of the more attractive girls in the village and the guys couldn't understand why she always spent her time with a stump like Domi. "I mean, you just HAVE to find a way to show off your 'leadership' skills."

"What skills?" added Fala. Everyone burst into laughter again.

"Here we go again," Somi whispered to Saria.

"I know," Saria said quietly. "I just hope it doesn't turn out too bad, like last time."

"Just what DOES make you such a good leader, Mido?" challenged Dore.

"I just am, that's all," answered Mido. "I'm a natural born leader."

"Where have you led us to lately?" said Ralo. Her twin sister, Fala, chuckled beside her.

"I think we're forgetting why we're here," Mido said, desperately trying to change the subject. "Anyway, I proclaim that from this day forward, no one goes in or out of the Lost Woods." The room groaned at that. The Lost Woods were a part of daily life for most of the village. Especially Saria, who always went to the Sacred Forest Meadow to play her ocarina whenever she needed to be alone or in touch with nature. "And furthermore," he continued, "I propose that the entrance to the Lost Woods be guarded day and night. So who's going on guard duty?"

"Don't look at me," said Sodo, the peaceful boy. "I have a hard enough time as it is guarding the bridge to the vastness." Sodo had been guarding the bridge to the vastness for as long as Saria could remember. She didn't even think Sodo could remember a day in which he didn't have to guard the bridge.

"Well, I can't do it," said Miso. "I have to cut Saria's grass every day."

Saria hung her head down at that. She couldn't believe Mido had Miso cut her grass every day in a vain attempt to impress her.

"Don't look at us," said Dore. "We're too busy with our training." The Know-It-All brothers trained for combat every day for as long as Saria could remember. The girls always thought it was just a way to show off, until the rare occasion of a wolfos or Deku Scrub attack.

Mido then spotted his target. He saw young Link sitting behind Saria, trying not to be seen. "What about you, freak? Maybe you should guard the entrance to the Lost Woods."

Saria tried sticking up for Link. "Mido, he's only five. He can't guard the Lost Woods."

Mido shrugged. "So, he'll get used to it. Like Sodo."

Sodo only looked down and grumbled. He was peaceful, but sometimes he hated his life of having to guard the bride every day. It was a thankless job.

"Anyway, with that, I think I'll end this meeting. Meeting adjourned." Mido was about to pound his gavel when the top part flew backward and struck Dore's bow, breaking it in half.

"NO! My bow," Dore went and held each half of the bow in each hand. "Mido, you are SO going to pay for that."

"Hey, it's n-not my fault you guys gave me a cheap gavel," Mido responded.

"Uh, l-let's go Link," Saria said nervously. The last thing she wanted to see that night, was violence between Mido and Dore. As they went outside, Saria could still hear the shouting match between Dore and Mido. She knew that the real winner would be Domi, who made a living off selling things like bows. The only issue was who would pay for it. She quickly forgot about that when she felt Link tugging at her arm.

"Sissy, do I really have to guard the entrance?" Link asked.

"I'm afraid so, Link," Saria said. Then an idea popped into her head. "But don't worry, it won't be for long."

  
Chapter 5  


Young Link stood by his post near the Lost Woods when Mido came by to give him instructions.

"Ok Mr. No-Fairy. You are to keep anything and anybody away from this tunnel. No one goes in or out. Got it, freak?"

Link just nodded and Mido left.

Saria saw Link there sitting alone from her house and knew she had to do something. Not just for Link, but for herself. She knew that if no one could go into the Lost Woods, she couldn't go out into the Sacred Forest Meadow. One of her favorite pastimes has been going out into the Sacred Forest Meadow and playing her ocarina. Not that she couldn't get past Link, but if she did, it meant Mido would punish him. No, instead she decided to play a trick that hopefully would rid the village of Mido's paranoia, if only temporarily.

"Somi, do you still have that long cloth that Mira gave you?" Saria asked her friend.

"Yeah, why?" Somi asked curiously.

"Do you have a bottle of Baba glue lying around?" she continued.

"Yeah," answered Somi. "What do you need it for?"

"And do you know if that wolfos' carcass is still lying around somewhere?" Saria asked.

"Yeah, but why do you want to see an old carcass?" Somi began to see a smile come on to her friend's face.

"Do you still have that knife we used to carve the Deku meat?" Saria asked, ignoring Somi's question.

"Yeah. Saria, why do you want to know all this stuff?"

"I have an idea to get us all into the Lost Woods again without having to get Link punished."

Three days later, Link continued to stand guard. _'Stupid Mido,"_ he thought, _"It's so boring here. Doesn't he know there's no wolfos around?"_ Suddenly Link heard a roar. It was a different kind of roar though. But when Link turned around he still saw a sight to terrify him. It was a wolfos, but it looked different. It looked thinner and he couldn't see any visible legs, but Link took no chances and dove out of the way. Surprisingly, the wolfos went right past him. It headed straight for Mido's house.

The wolfos went straight into Mido's house and approached Mido. It growled into Mido's face. He knew that it didn't look like a regular wolfos. _"Maybe it's was wounded by Link,"_ he thought to himself. _"But a wounded animal's always more dangerous."_ Mido could barely let out a whimper, much less a scream. The only thing that saved Mido...

"Mido, I thought I heard something in here."

It was Sodo. The wolfos turned around and slowly headed straight for the peaceful boy and let out its painful roar. But Sodo didn't seem to be phased at all.

"Hey, Saria. Hey, Somi. Hey, Mira. What are you guys doing?" Sodo grinned as Saria, Somi, and Mira took off the giant wolfos fur. They couldn't believe Sodo recognized them.

"Hey, how'd you know it was us?" Saria asked.

Sodo only chuckled. "You actually thought I'd fall for a disguise like that? You don't even look like a real wolfos. You didn't even look like you were walking, it was more like sliding or even limping. Plus the head hung down a lot, which only looked like it was a broken neck or a disfigurement. And you didn't have that charming wolfos breath. And not to mention the bad, and let's face it, 'feminine' roar you guys had. I mean, only a complete idiot would fall for a disguise like that."

As if on cue, they all simultaneously looked at Mido.

"Uh…I-I knew it all along," Mido said sheepishly. "But what exactly was the point of this little exhibition?"

"Come on Mido," Saria said. "You don't really think Link would last that long guarding the entrance to the Lost Woods, do you? I mean, if a real wolfos were to come into the village, it'd devour Link in seconds."

Mido grinned evilly. "I'm not seeing a downside to this."

Saria wanted to knock Mido's head off for that remark, but she kept her composure long enough to make her point. "And after Link goes down, who's next? Link wouldn't even have enough time to let out a warning. The wolfos would just come in and pick somebody off without anybody knowing. No one would see it coming. It could be Somi, or Sodo, or me, or even…YOU!!!"

It couldn't be seen in Mido's cocky exterior, but that was enough to scare him. "Hmm…Ok, I'll take the little freak off guard duty until I can think of something else."

Saria smiled and saw Sodo's face brighten as well. A light bulb had gone off in the peaceful boy's head.

"How about me, Mido? Can I go off guard duty, too? Please? I've been guarding the bridge to the vastness for so long. Can't I please stop now?" asked Sodo with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Mido chuckled and said, "Sorry, not in this lifetime." And he left.

"Aww!" Sodo muttered something incoherent and left. Saria, Somi, and Mira having accomplished their mission decided to take their leave as well. As Saria stepped out, she could see some shaking in a bush. Then she remembered Link. When she looked behind the bush, indeed she saw the young five-year old quivering in fear making Saria's heart sink.

"Link?" she asked softly.

"Aaahhh!!! S-Sissy, there's a w-wolfos. It had huge teeth and b-big eyes and it tried to eat me…"

"Calm down, Link. It's gone." She still saw that he was afraid.

"Sissy, I don't want to guard the entrance anymore. It's too scary. And the wolfos might come back and…"

"It's ok, Link. I talked to Mido and you don't have to guard the entrance anymore." Saria was happy to see Link's face light up at that.

"Really? You mean it?"

As Saria took Link's hand to go home, she couldn't help but feel guilty for scaring him like that. And she figured it'd be better she told him instead of from the other girls' gossip. "Yeah, but I sort of have a confession to make…"

  
Chapter 6  


Link smiled at those memories. "You have no idea how much she scared me that day, but she did it for me," Link told Malon. "If she hadn't, I might still be guarding the entrance to the Lost Woods."

"She must have meant a lot to you. I guess it's a good thing she stood up for you so much, or who knows how you might have turned out." Malon hated the thought of Link growing up to be like Ingo was during the Imprisoning War. She was glad he had someone like Saria during his childhood. Suddenly, the cucco crowed. "It's morning. We must have spent the whole night talking."

Link got to his feet. "Yeah. I guess it was a long night." There was a moment of silence. Then Link said, "Well, I guess I better get ready to go."

That took Malon by surprise. "Huh? Where are you going?"

"The Forest Temple," Link answered. "I need to see if Saria's all right. If you saw what I saw, then you would go too."

As funny as it sounded, Malon was so wrapped up with Link sharing his past that she completely forgot why he came out there in the first place. But still, she knew he couldn't just get up and go. "You have no supplies, you can't just leave."

Link got on his horse, Epona. "I have to stop by Zora's Domain anyway. I'll get supplies there and I'll take the shortcut to the Lost Woods."

"Can't I at least go with you?"

"No. This is something I have to do by myself." Link was heading out of the ranch when he told Malon, "I'll be ok. Tell Talon I'll be gone for a few days, a week tops. It's been too long." _'Assuming she's even alive,'_ he thought. He shook off that grim thought, but didn't dismiss the possibility. The dream he saw did look real. Maybe it already happened. That's what he's going to find out. But he also sensed anxiety in Malon. So he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and prepared to ride off. "I'll be back." And off he went.

"Good luck." Those were the only words that Malon could come up with as Link left towards Zora's Domain.

  
Chapter 7  


Link had been riding for nearly two days and was finally approaching Zora's Domain. He got to the waterfall and decided to camp out. He felt it was better to just sleep there than sleep in the coldness of Zora's Domain, which had quite a few arctic winds blowing in from Zora's Fountain. While he laid out his tent, he could see the shortcut to the Lost Woods. When he used to travel during the Imprisoning War, he could hear Saria's Song coming from the shortcut. He couldn't hear it anymore and honestly didn't know what to make of it. Had she stopped playing for that night, or worse, was she even alive to play it? Link knew that couldn't be it. Saria was always a strong person, in touch with the forest and nature and could often be heard playing her song in the Sacred Forest Meadow…

* * *

Young Link was exhausted. He had just battled a large wolfos to get into the Sacred Forest Meadow. But more than that, he was also mentally exhausted. He had seen the Deku Tree die, gone out into the vastness, and seen the princess of destiny. He had been sent on a quest to find three Spiritual Stones and open the Door of Time into the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, could do the same. He had one, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, and was almost ready to set off for Death Mountain. But before he did, he knew he had to see Saria again. And Mido told him she was in the Sacred Forest Meadow. The thought of this giant quest being thrust on the shoulders of ten-year old boy boggled Link's mind. Link climbed a large flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever, but then Link found her. Saria was sitting on a lone tree stump, serenely playing her ocarina. Link couldn't bear to interrupt the peaceful scene, but Saria had already spotted him.

"You're looking for me, aren't you Link?" she asked.

"Uh…what makes you think that, Sissy?"

Saria grinned. "Come on. Who else is out here?"

Link couldn't argue with that. "Sissy, I have something to tell you." But he knew she didn't hear him. Saria looked into space and seemed to be spaced out.

She finally got out of her trance and broke the silence. "I have a feeling, Link. It's more of a vision. I have a feeling that this place will become very important one day. For both of us. I can't explain how, or why, but it will."

Link had to say something about what he's experienced in the last few days. "Sissy…I'm sort of going on a quest. I have to find some stones. And…"

Saria's cheerful expression turned somber. "I think I know what you're trying to say. You won't be coming back. Will you?"

Link looked down. He honestly couldn't answer her. He didn't know.

Saria had a gleam of hope in her eye. "Take your ocarina out, Link."

Link took out the Faerie Ocarina that Saria gave him just before he left the forest to go out into the vastness. It was freshly carved, and Saria probably wanted to give it to him on a special occasion. Of course, since he left, she probably wouldn't have another opportunity.

"I'm going to teach you a song, Link," she continued. "Whenever you play this song, we'll be able to speak telepathically through the ocarina. It's not exactly how I wanted things to turn out, but at least we'll be able to stay in touch."

Five minutes later, Link found himself playing simultaneously with Saria. The sounds of the ocarinas were in such perfect harmony, that one couldn't tell them apart. Link learned the song so fast that Saria's face lit up in a smile so bright it warmed his heart and he would never forget it.

* * *

He could have easily used the ocarina to keep in touch with Saria. It would have been a way to make her time in the temple less lonely. But Link had given the Ocarina of Time back to Princess Zelda, and Link had discarded his Faerie Ocarina given to him by Saria. He was left without an instrument, and out of luck.

  
Chapter 8  


When Link was done with his business in Zora's Domain, he came out ready to leap into the shortcut to the Lost Woods. He tied up Epona and made sure she was under the tent. Link saw storm clouds moving in and he didn't want his horse to be drenched in a possible rainstorm. Link leaped into the water shortcut and came out on the other side. It was a dark night in the Lost Woods and rain began to pour down. As he began walking towards the Forest Temple, he couldn't help but think of the last time he talked to Saria. It was when they had their falling out, back when Link had awakened her as the Sage of the Forest.

* * *

"Saria?!" Link asked in utter shock. He had just defeated the Phantom Ganondorf and gone through all the perils of the Forest Temple. He was told by Shiek to do it to awaken a forest sage. But he didn't care about a forest or his stupid quest. The only thing that brought him to the temple was the revelation that Saria was being held prisoner there. But when he was brought back to the Chamber of Sages, the last thing he expected to see was Saria as the Forest Sage.

"Yes, Link. It's me." It was all Saria could say. "I'm the Sage of the Forest."

"Saria…Saria, no! Why did you do this? Do you realize what you've done?" Link couldn't stand the harsh reality of Saria's decision. He knew what a life as a sage would bring to her.

Saria had a solemn look on her face. "I know what I've done Link. I became the Forest Sage so that I could help those I love. You and everyone at the village. Link, I told you a long time ago that I would gladly lay down my life to help you. And that went for everyone else in the village. If the time came, I would sacrifice myself to save them. And it looks like the time is here."

But Link saw the hopelessness in this situation. "Saria, you HAVE laid down your life. Becoming the Forest Sage means you have to live the rest of your life in some decaying temple, with no one around you but the walls. Night after night, year after year, living alone. I can't let you live like that! YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND!!!"

Saria began shedding tears. Her voice began to crack. "I'm afraid we have no choice. I've made my decision and I'm sticking by it. It's what's best for you, for the village, and for all of Hyrule. It's what has to be done. It's my destiny."

"Sissy, no." Link said quietly. He knew he was defeated and could do nothing in his power to change this. Fate had dealt a cruel hand. He hated this quest. It had taken so much from him before, including seven years of his life. But never in his wildest dreams did he think it would take his best friend from him.

Saria presented Link the Forest medallion and fell to her knees, crying. "Take this medallion and complete your quest Link. Fly higher than you've ever gone and forget about your past. We…can no longer be friends."

"Saria, NO!!!" Link saw a flash of white light. He was beginning to leave the Chamber of Sages. The last sight he saw, was that of Saria crying. Knowing that she would never see her best friend, or any of her other friends again.

* * *

It pained Link to remember that day. He had warned her of the agony the life of the Forest Sage would bring her. The only thing that would pain Link more that day, would be to enter the Forest Temple and see that the dream he had was, in fact, a vision of the past. The rain was beginning to pour down on the Sacred Forest Meadow. Trees were nearly blown off their roots. Lightning shot down from the sky as Link saw the empty tree stump in which Saria always used to sit, playing her ocarina. Link thought hard about what he would say if he saw Saria. She certainly wouldn't be expecting this. But the inevitable time has come.

He took out his longshot and went up to the door of the temple. That cursed temple. The temple that has brought so much misery to his best friend. He entered the temple and he began searching for Saria…or, should worse come to worse, her corpse. He looked everywhere on the first floor, with the exception of a door that was mysteriously locked. He then went to the second floor. He looked everywhere without success. Until he reached one door and remembered, _"This is it. This leads to the garden I saw in my dream."_ Before he opened the door, he heard something. It was the sound of someone crying. It was Saria! She was alive, but obviously from the magnitude of her crying, not well. He opened the door and saw a sight that horrified him so much he nearly froze. He saw Saria, his childhood friend, standing atop the bridge…ready to jump.

  
Comments? Review below. Or send any comments to HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com


	2. Chapter 2: Reunited in the Forest Temple

Author's note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Ides of Diamonds, Mihaele Rose, and the other countless authors whose works I've read since May. I also thank my impatience, as it has served its only use. It has me working day and night on a fic that I want to see myself finish. I'd like to give credit to Post Rapture, Juliet and Kirstey Singleton, Ides of Diamonds, and any other author whose original characters or excerpts (and yes, there are excerpts) from their stories I may have used. The last thing I want to do is step on any toes.  
  
And PLEASE!!! Read and Review!!!  
  
Chapter 9  


"Saria, NO!!!" Link screamed at the top of lungs, hoping his best friend wouldn't jump off the bridge. But it was too late. She had already made the leap. Link went as fast as his Kokiri boots would let him and slid towards the end of the bridge, nearly falling off himself, and caught the Forest Sage by the arm.

"Link?!" Saria shouted. She was more than willing to take her life that night. But the last thing she expected to see was Link there to catch her. But now she had a look of fear on her face. She prepared to jump straight off, not dangle 70 feet above the ground.

It took nearly all his strength, but Link pulled Saria up. He fell to his knees and could have sworn he was having a panic attack. Never had he been so afraid, than at that moment. He had been afraid that the girl who raised him, his best friend, would fall to her death that night. Had he arrived a second later, it would have been too late. After a few seconds, Link managed to muster the words he wanted to say. "Saria, why? Why would you try to kill yourself?"

Saria turned around and walked towards the door Link came in and stopped. She had her back to him. She went through a mixture of emotions. She didn't know if she should be happy that the boy she raised back in the village had come to visit her, or if she should be angry that Link had prolonged her worthless life that in the end, she would find herself alone. Her eyes were still filled with tears. She had been crying nearly the whole night.

"Saria, please answer me," Link pleaded. "Why would you do this?"

Saria's sorrow began to turn to anger. "Why did you save me?! Why did you have to come here?! Why couldn't you just let me die?! I hate my life! I just want to jump and get it all over with. There's no use in me being around here alone." She got to her knees and began sobbing. She still had her back to Link.

Link approached the young Kokiri girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't know what to think when I saw what I did. I thought it may have been a vision of the past, but clearly it was a vision of the future."

Saria sat down, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"Saria, I had a dream a couple of nights ago…"

* * *

That night, she questioned her existence. "Is this really worth it?" she said to herself, "Does it really matter if I live or die?! Link was right! It isn't worth it! No one's going to invade to stupid temple! And as far as I'm concerned, my life ended five years ago!!!" With that Saria stood up. She looked down on the ground, which had to be at least 70 feet below her…and jumped.

And then…everything went black…

* * *

"I thought it was grim nightmare," Link continued. "But I knew it looked so real. As much as I didn't want to believe it. But it was true. Saria, I don't understand. Why did you jump? Why did you try to take your own life?"

Saria's face looked grim. She had so many reasons, she didn't know where to begin. "Link…you were right. You knew that my life would turn out this way. You knew that a life as sage would bring me eternal solitude. But I didn't listen. I was blinded by my loyalty. Loyalty to my friends, to you, and to doing what's right. Link, I really didn't believe it could be this bad. I didn't think I would become this…lonely…and be forced to stay here in this gloomy old temple for the rest of my life. I didn't know, until the first night when the Imprisoning War ended…"

* * *

Saria had never seen such a celebration before. Everyone in Hyrule had turned out to celebrate the defeat of Ganondorf, the King of Evil. People of all races had come to rejoice in Hyrule's freedom. She hated to see it end, but the sun was rising and the cucco had crowed. She prayed to God that she could go back and see her friends, if only for a little while. Five of the seven sages had left. She was left alone with Rauru, the Sage of Light.

"Rauru?" she began. "Now that it's over, what happens now?"

The old Sage of Light didn't know how to break it to young Saria, but he knew he had to tell her. "Each sage must go to his or her respective temple immediately. They must guard their respective domain from any evildoer who may disrupt the Sacred Realm."

Saria was crushed at what she was being thrown. "You mean I can't go see my friends? Even for a few minutes?"

Rauru frowned. "I'm sorry, child. But you must go to your temple immediately. I'm afraid you can never see your friends again."

Saria was beginning to grasp the reality of the situation. "Please Rauru. Just for a few minutes?"

Rauru's heart sunk, but he knew that the rules couldn't be bent for anyone. "I am truly sorry, young Saria. You cannot. It is the consequence that comes with becoming a sage."

The last thing Saria remembered was a flash of white light. She was being taken to her temple.

  
Chapter 10  


"I knew I had to stay the rest of my life here," Saria told Link. "But I thought I'd at least get a chance to say goodbye. Link, you have no idea what it's like to leave your friends without even as much as a goodbye."

The reality began to hit Link. Yes, when he said goodbye to Saria that day in the Chamber of Sages, he was sad. But he imagined the state of the other Kokiri. Among those were Mido, who had changed while Link was gone, had just begun to cherish his friendship with Saria. Somi, her best friend, besides Link, was told by Saria that she would come back. And Sodo, whom Link believed Saria had a crush on since before Link ever arrived, must still be waiting for Saria to come back. They honestly believed that Saria would return. They didn't know if she was dead or alive and she couldn't tell them she was ok, or that she missed them. That must have hurt, more than Link could imagine.

Saria continued. "But I didn't know how bad it was, until I spent my first night in this awful place…"

* * *

The blinding light had disappeared. Saria now found herself inside the Forest Temple. She never noticed how big it really was. It looked a lot smaller with all the monsters lurking about. Saria began to cold. The atmosphere felt chilly. And Saria began feeling…lonely.

"Hello?" Saria said. It was a vain attempt, but she prayed to God that there was at least, someone outside the temple.

"HELLO!!!!!!!!!!" She nearly lost her voice on that cry. But it didn't seem to matter. The vast temple was empty. She wouldn't be talking to anyone.

It was eerily quiet. Saria could have sworn she could hear a pin drop. But the silence didn't last long. It began to rain. With most of the temple being open to the sky, she quickly scrambled to find cover. She began to face a harsh reality. It would be like this a lot. There would countless nights in which she would find herself alone and in the rain.

She decided to pull out her only form of entertainment in the dreary temple. Her ocarina. She placed her lips on the instrument and began to play a somber, mellow tune. She played for at least fifteen minutes until she could not hold it in any longer and began to cry.

* * *

"It was like that almost every night. For five years, that's all I could remember." Saria sadly looked at Link and hung her head down again. "I could only remember the rain. The darkness. The emptiness. I can barely remember how my song goes anymore, because I rarely play it. I only play it when I'm happy, and I haven't been happy since I've become the Forest Sage."

Link realized that that was why he hadn't heard Saria's song coming from the shortcut to the Lost Woods. She never really played it anymore. Link sensed that Saria had more sorrow to express, but his heart has already crumbled ten times over. He hoped to relieve some of her pain.

"Saria?" he asked. "In the five years that you've been here. Hasn't anybody visited you? Not even one person's even stumbled by this place by accident?"

Saria spent time thinking, but she suddenly remembered. "I do know one person…"

* * *

(Saria was sitting on the bridge. It was a bright day, which was rare in the time she spent guarding the Forest Temple. Unlike many other days, she actually felt in a good enough mood to play her ocarina. She took it out and began to play her song. So many days stuck in the temple and she decided to abandon all hope in any evil invading…or in getting a visitor.

But suddenly Saria was taken by surprise when a hand touched her shoulder. She tried to let out a scream and began to fall of the bridge. The hand suddenly grasped her arm. It was the hand of a Hylian. It was a young Hylian man who seemed to be equipped in the clothing of the Hylian army. The arm suddenly pulled her up and she found herself standing in front of the tall Hylian soldier. She was too overcome with fear to understand what was happening. Had he come to invade the temple? Was she actually ready to serve her purpose, which was guarding the Forest Temple from intruders? She quickly took action and began to wail her arms and glow with the power given to her. Unfortunately, she didn't really know how to use her power.

"Who art thou who invades t-this…s-sacred…uh…d-domain? I w-warn you. D-desist your evil intentions, b-before…a-annihilation d-draws n-near." She honestly didn't know what she was doing. Her fear rose about ten notches when the soldier unleashed his sword and pointed it at her.

"Whoa," he said, pointing his sword at her. "Ease up on the glowing trick."

"I'm warning you…" She didn't know what else to say. If she were going to be killed, she wouldn't fight it. 'It beats another lonely night,' she thought to herself.

Surprisingly, the Hylian put his sword away. "I mean no harm," he said. "I'm just after the music." He smiled and said, "I just stumbled in here, is that a crime?"

Saria lowered her arms, feeling a bit embarrassed. "No, I g-guess that's not a crime."

"I thought as much," he said. Saria could have sworn that the Hylian was just as nervous as she was.

"What were you doing in here, then?" she asked.

"Me?" he asked. He looked like he didn't know how to answer.

"Yeah, you."

He quickly tried turning the tables on her. "What are YOU doing in the Forest Temple?!" he asked her.

Saria almost giggled at the question. Wasn't it obvious? "I'm the forest sage, silly!" she answered.

He smiled at that. "Could have fooled me any day."

Saria didn't know how to take that. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

He walked a little closer to Saria and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is it just me, or did I have the element of surprise over you?"

"I could have seen you," she crossed her arms and seemed to pout.

"Oh really?" he asked smugly. "For a moment there, I could easily have plunged you into the pond here with my bare hands."

She didn't know what to make of that either. "Look, are you trying to threaten me or not?"

"No one threatened anyone till you started glowing your arms angrily with that green junk!" he shot back. "I didn't mean to raise alarm like that."

"Yeah, well, you startled me," she mumbled.

The Hylian soldier looked around and seemed overwhelmed by the size of the temple. "Just what are you doing here anyhow, little girl?"

Again, the cold reality of her fate struck Saria. "I live here," she said sadly. "This place is my domain...for as long as I'm alive. And for being a forest sage, believe me, I'm going to be living a LONG time."

"Must be horrendous."

"What?"

He clarified, "To be alone here....day after day. You are stuck in this Temple alone, right?" He was smarter than she thought. He nailed it right on the head. "Well....no," she said, sitting back on the railing of the bridge. "Usually, yes. But if the other sages intervene...and they rarely do...I might venture upon visiting their temples for a change. Oh yeah, I can also go to the sacred realm whenever I want to."

He face took a look of amazement. "Sacred realm?" he said. "You ARE the forest sage, aren't you?"

_'Well, duh!'_ she thought. Of course the last thing she wanted was to offend her visitor. She just smiled and said, "I much prefer 'Saria'."

"Saria?"

She nodded. She thought now would be the time to find out who this stranger was. "And who might you be, mister?"

"Post Rapture."

"Post Rapture?" 

"Uh huh."

Saria couldn't help but giggle. "That's a very interesting name."

"It's been an interesting life," he said. "But it could be made more interesting. That's why I came here."

"In search of adventure?" she asked.

He smiled. "My, you read minds, don't you?"

Saria was flattered by that remark, but she also knew the grim answer to that question. "No, I've just known a lot of minds in the past, so I can predict things pretty good."

He nodded. "Yeah, you know--"

She interrupted, "Especially since I'm here everyday. It's easy to remember the littlest of things when you've got no one to talk to. You know what I mean? You just sit around....waiting to show off your vast knowledge...the knowledge passed on by the endless vines of the overgrown walls and floors of this quiet realm."

Once again, Saria remembered the lonely nights she experienced. Nights like the first. Post Rapture began to walk towards the door. "Well, I'm sure you've got a much more important role to play here than I could imagine," he said. "Personally, I need to make it back to my ranch before sun-down. Not that I'll be punished for being late or anything, it just makes travel easier in the forest if I leave in daylight."

_'NO!'_ Saria thought. This 'Post Rapture' may be the closest thing Saria ever gets to a friend. She couldn't let him leave. "Oh? You're going so soon...?"

He nodded and looked at Saria like she was crazy. "Certainly I'm leaving! A temple like this is no place for a mere Hylian like me to inhabit. God bless." He began to leave.

Saria's one visitor, the only visitor she had since coming into this life as a sage, was leaving. Saria decided to make one last desperate plea. "Wait!" Saria reached her hand out toward his. She had nothing to lose and could gain the friend she had desperately prayed for. "Wouldn't y-you like to st- stay....just for a few minutes more? Maybe talk? M-maybe share a few stories?" Saria was almost in tears. She didn't want to be left alone again. She couldn't bear that. Suddenly, she saw a look of pity in the eyes of Post Rapture, almost as if he felt sorry for her.

"Sure thing, Saria," he smiled. "I-I can do that."

The forest sage gasped for joy. She had the company she wanted so badly. "Oh really?! Magnificent! Here...let's go somewhere a bit more in the shade." Saria took Post Rapture by the hand and led him to another part of the temple. By the end of the day, Saria had made a new friend and for the first time in a long time, felt happy.)1

  
Chapter 11  


Saria sat on the bridge with Link. Her tears had dried up and she was feeling a little better than she had been earlier. "I did everything possible to get Post Rapture to stay. I can only imagined how desperate I must have looked. But Post stayed and we shared stories. The worst part was when he had to leave."

Link almost saw a smile on the young sage's face, but it quickly disappeared into the look of hopelessness he saw in his dream.

"But a few weeks later, I realized something," she said. "Yes, I had a friend. But I was kidding myself. I don't hate Post Rapture. I love him. I love him for not leaving that first day we met. I love him for dropping by nearly every week since. But I can't forget them Link. My friends. No matter how much we try, Post and I can never experience the level of friendship I had with everyone back at the village. It's just not possible. He can never be a Kokiri or think like a Kokiri or have the innocence of a Kokiri or have the life span of a Kokiri. Yes, I remember that night clearly. It was the third time we'd met…"

* * *

(Saria sat down holding the necklace of Amanecera, the Hylian friend she once had in the village. She had held it all day and had a thought cross her head. _'Why did she like us so much,'_ she wondered. _'We were just an insult to her aging. The aging of a Hylian. And why does Post Rapture like me so much? I only insult his aging too.'_

Suddenly, Post Rapture spoke. She had nearly forgotten he was there. "Why did you become the forest sage, Saria?" he asked quietly. "Why did you...if you knew that it was going to promise you this....this life....this reclusion..."

The question took Saria by surprise. She could barely remember anymore. She only sighed, "Because I wanted to save my loved ones. Somi...Mira...Mido...I wanted all of them to prosper. And I was so young then....still am young now. But then is when I had the ambition...the will to fight. And, in lieu of the absence of one particular child that I loved very much, I had the will to sacrifice. To sacrifice myself, and my life....without knowing what such an occupation as the forest sage promised. Without knowing that the very same entities I was saving would never again grace my vision. That I'd never see the ones I risked myself for. That I'd never again walk the Lost Woods with Somi, or attack Fala and Ralo for spreading rumors about me...or challenge Mido to leave me alone for the next few hours." Then a grim reality began to set into the young girl. "In fact, now...I don't know where my friends are. I don't know if my efforts turned out successful...or just sank in the deepest pond, never to be resurfaced. They could be slaves, for all I know. Maybe Miso took one step too far and insulted a tribe of ferocious deku scrubs who forced them to work in a rupee mind. I can just imagine right now...Fala would be complaining about the underground soot on her tunic...and Sofa and Dila would be screaming from their mining crawlspace for her to shut her mouth. But then again, I could be exaggerating. They're all probably just fine. Mido's forcing Miso to cut the grass in front of my abandoned house, wondering if I'll ever come back. Fala and Ralo are exchanging old tales about me and the way my hair used to look eerie in the moonlight, and Sofa and Dila are still stubbing their toes again in combat training."

But Saria's face began to fill with tears. She knew she was only kidding herself. In a cracked voice she said, "But what do I know? I know nothing. I don't know how they're all doing. I don't know if the village still stands...or if it was torn to the ground by a storm. Or by a flood. I don't know who's well or who's not...."

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She buried her face in her hands and began weeping bitterly. "I...," she muttered into her muffling hands. "I...I-I don't even know if Sodo's still breathing!!" As if on cue, it began to rain again. Saria began to believe that it was a symbol of her now. She had cried before, but this time she was breaking down completely. That's when she felt a friendly embrace, from her friend, Post Rapture.

"It's all right, Saria. Let it out....it must be unimaginable to live the way you do..."

_'You have no idea!'_ she thought. What made it worse was that this is exactly what Link said would happen. She thought she was helping her friends, but she began to wonder if it would have made any difference at all if she became the Forest Sage or if she just remained a normal Kokiri girl. "Oh Post...it's so lonely in here. Day after day after day, it's me and the walls. I can't stand it, Post. I need someone to talk to. I need you....you've been my answer, Post. Thank you....oh praise God. Thank you....," she sobbed.

Saria was glad to have someone to express her emotions to. But she felt Post break the embrace and head towards an exit.

"Umm...Saria...the sun's gone down....I think I gotta--"

_'NO!'_ she thought. She couldn't bear to go through this night alone. "Oh, won't you please stay a little longer?" she cried softly. "Please....just a little...just be here for a little longer...please?" At this point she was begging, but she didn't care. She didn't want to see her only friend leave.

Saria saw the look of pity come onto Post Rapture again, "All right, Saria," he said. "I won't leave you...if that's what you wish."

"Oh thank you, Post....thank you…" Saria wanted to smile, but she couldn't. All she could do was lay her head on Post Rapture's shoulder and continue sobbing. )2

  
Chapter 13  


While Saria recalled that night with Post Rapture, Link began to lead down to the first floor. Not only would it keep them away from the rain, but also as much as Link hated to admit it, he honesty didn't know if Saria would try jumping again.

"Post Rapture ended up leaving around dawn," Saria said. "I can't tell you how much his staying meant to me. But lately…"

"Lately what?" Link asked with a quizzical look.

"Link…" Saria began. "He's not going to be there every night. In about 200 years, when I need to talk to someone, he won't be around. He won't even be alive. I'll just be alone. Alone again and forever. And when he asked me why I took this life, I didn't know what to tell him. I can't even remember anymore."

Link began getting frustrated. He couldn't stand to see his best friend in this much pain.

"I thought I could handle this," she continued. "The other sages could handle it. Rauru has spent most of his life in his temple watching over Hyrule. Darunia is the king of his people. He's never alone because the Gorons need his leadership sooner or later. Ruto is the princess of her people. They'll always visit her from the shortcut to Zora's Domain and she'll eventually get more visitors when she becomes queen of her people. Impa is the last of her species. She spent most of her life alone, but even she has Princess Zelda, who will visit her sometimes. Nabooru spent all her time in her temple before she even became a sage. It's the base of her operations. There's always going to be someone coming into her temple. But what about me? No one's going to visit me. I was never the leader of my people. I was never royalty. I was never a bodyguard or a protector. I was just a normal Kokiri girl…and…and…N- NOBODY EVEN KNOWS I'M HERE!!!" Saria buried her face in her hands again and wept.

Link offered his shoulder to his young friend. The Forest Sage had broken down again. Link had never seen her like this. He wanted to tell her that he would be the friend she needed. He wanted to say that he would stay and go through every night with her. But when he looked outside, he saw the sun rise. He couldn't even stay for another hour. He had to be going back to the ranch, he was already late. _'How is she going to take this?'_ he thought. He had to tell her sooner or later.

"Saria…" he began. "I-I'm sorry. I have to go."

Saria reacted instantly at the sound of those words. "No, please. C-Can't you stay a little longer?"

Link wished he could, but he knew Malon would have a fit if he took longer than he said he would. "I-I'm sorry. I can't. I'm late. I have to go back." 

"But I don't know if I'll ever see you again!"

A thought then crossed the mind of the Hero of Time. "You will see me again. If it's ok, I'll come back in a week. And I'll stay a lot longer, I promise."

Saria still looked sad. She could only sigh, "Ok. A week. But remember, you promised."

Link was almost out the door, "Ok, but don't kill yourself. I'll come back." With that, Link left the Forest Temple and Saria was left alone…again.

  
Chapter 14  


As Link left the Forest Temple, he couldn't help but think. He had never seen Saria like that before. She looked so depressed and even suicidal. He warned her. Why did she do it?

* * *

"Sissy…you saved my life." Those were the only words to come out of Link at that moment. He didn't know what else to say. Well, there was one more word. "Why?"

Saria almost looked shocked. "Why? Link, you're my friend. Friends stick by each other. I would've gladly put my life on the line to help you or anyone else in the village."

* * *

Saria had a solemn look on her face. "I know what I've done Link. I became the Forest Sage so that I could help those I love. You and everyone at the village. Link, I told you a long time ago that I would gladly lay down my life to help you. And that went for everyone else in the village. If the time came, I would sacrifice myself to save them. And it looks like the time is here."

* * *

Link remembered those memories clearly as he went to the shortcut he came in from. But before he went in, he remembered something else Saria said. 

* * *

_'I don't know if my efforts turned out successful...or just sank in the deepest pond, never to be resurfaced.'_

'But what do I know? I know nothing. I don't know how they're all doing. I don't know if the village still stands...or if it was torn to the ground by a storm. Or by a flood. I don't know who's well or who's not....'

'I...I-I don't even know if Sodo's still breathing!!'

'I don't know…'

'I don't know…'

'I don't know…'

* * *

Those words echoed in the mind of Link. And that's when it hit him. He knew how he could help his friend. One of the things that led to her attempted suicide was not knowing how her friends were. She believed her efforts were in vain, because she didn't even know if everyone at the village was alive or dead.

Link decided to go find out. He wasn't far from the village. He could easily walk there and make it in a few hours. So he might be a little late getting back to the ranch, but so what? This was important. If he found everyone was all right, he could tell that to Saria went he went to the temple next week. Not wasting any time, he passed by the shortcut and continued on…towards the Kokiri village.

  
Chapter 15  


It had been hours since Link began traveling towards the village. He was almost there but decided to rest. He had been up all night and hadn't slept since before he came through the shortcut to the Lost Woods. He had pretty much given up on getting back to the ranch in time, but he figured the worst he would get was a stern lecture from Talon and Malon. He left his tent back at the waterfall near Zora's Domain, so Link decided to sleep on the grass.

* * *

A storm. Dark clouds had set in that night. A storm began. The rain was pouring massively that night as trees were blown to one side and lightning shot down from the sky. It was a large building…the Forest Temple. It was the bridge. It was Saria. She was crying again, as she usually did on a dark and stormy night. But something about it was different. It almost sounded like…she was mourning. She stood up and looked down. It was 70 feet straight down to the ground.

"Link…" she began. "I know you meant well. But you confirmed my worst fears. The village was destroyed. There's nothing left of what we used to call home. I took this life as the Forest Sage to save my friends and help them prosper…but now I see that it didn't matter!"

She looked up into the heavens. **"THIS IS THE LIFE YOU CALLED ME FOR, GOD?!?! A LIFE OF SOLITUDE I TOOK, BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD SAVE MY FRIENDS?!?! THAT WAS JUST A CRUEL JOKE, WASN'T IT?!?! I TOOK THIS LIFE TO SAVE THEM AND YOU TOOK THEIR LIVES ANYWAY!!!! WELL I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!! GET READY EVERYBODY, SARIA'S COMING TO JOIN YOU!!!!"**

And she jumped…and everything went black.

* * *

Link woke up in a cold sweat. It was still the middle of the night. But what did he just see? He saw Saria again, committing suicide. But it was different this time. Saria didn't kill herself out of loneliness, she killed herself because her friends…

_'OH NO!!!'_ The reality finally struck Link. He scrambled to get his supplies and head straight through the tunnel.

When he came out on the other side, he saw that his worst fears had been realized.

It was Kokiri village…and it lay in ruins.

  
  
Author's Note: The excerpt ()1 was taken out of Post Rapture's Kokiri Tales 1. It was different in the P.O.V., but it was basically taken out of his story. The excerpt ()2 was taken out of Post Rapture's Kokiri Tales 3. Again, different P.O.V., but basically the same scene. I give full credit to Post Rapture, as the last thing I want to do is plagiarize.   
Comments? Review below. Or send any comments to HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com


	3. Chapter 3: Beginning the long search for...

Author's note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Ides of Diamonds, Mihaele Rose, and the other countless authors whose works I've read since May. I also thank my impatience, as it has served its only use. It has me working day and night on a fic that I want to see myself finish. I'd like to give credit to Post Rapture, Juliet and Kirstey Singleton, Ides of Diamonds, and any other author whose original characters or excerpts (and yes, there are excerpts. I may have changed a few words to make it shorter, but there are basically excerpts from their stories. I will give each excerpt its proper credit.) from their stories I may have used. The last thing I want to do is step on any toes.  
  
And PLEASE!!! Read and Review!!!  
  
Chapter 16 

Link had come to Kokiri village to see how everyone was. He wanted to assure Saria that her friends were all well. But nothing could be further than the truth. Minutes ago, Link was awakened after having another nightmare. Again he saw Saria jumping off the bridge, but this time it was over the deaths of her friends. Link realized it could have been another vision of the future. But it couldn't be, as long as Saria didn't find out. But could Link really keep this from her?

He walked around the remains of the village and the sights he saw horrified him. The treehouses they lived in were all burned to the ground. The bridge to the vastness had been burned, so that no one may cross ever again. And when he made his way past the destruction, he saw a sickening sight. It was the Deku Tree, no longer a sprout. And it had been mercilessly slaughtered. On the side of the dead tree was something carved, likely by a Hylian sword. It read, _"Death To All Elves."_

Link knew there was bigotry and racism in Hyrule, especially against the Kokiri, but never in his wildest dream did he believe that a Hylian army would be so self-righteous and intolerant as to actually invade the village of the Kokiri and slaughter them and their guardian. He couldn't understand what possessed people to do such hateful things.

Link walked around, stepping over the fallen trees and houses. He went to his old treehouse. Like all the others, it was destroyed. But Link noticed something. The remains of his old home were still burning. The flames were almost out, but they were still there. Link pondered what this meant. If his house was still burning, then the attack couldn't have come more than a few days ago. He had wandered around the entire village and noticed something…no corpses. No dead Kokiri bodies and no green blood anywhere. _'Could they still be alive?'_ Link thought to himself.

"HELLO?!?!" Link shouted. Nothing. Only silence. "MIDO?! SOMI?! ANYBODY?!" There wasn't a sound. He then went towards the tunnel to the vastness. The bridge had indeed been burned down. The bridge that Sodo used to look after every day. Then Link saw something on the ground. It looked like a note. With a gleam of hope, Link picked up the note and began reading:

**To whoever finds this,**

We never saw it coming. I sat by, watching the vastness as I did everyday, and I saw an army approach. It was an army of at least 30. They all carried torches and began a chant that could only bring a chill to the spine of every Kokiri. "Death To All Elves," they shouted. They came wheeling in a cage and demanded we surrender. We all fought back, but the Hylian giants quickly overwhelmed us. They threw us all in the cage and began setting fire to all our homes. As I write this, they are taking our guardian, the Deku Tree, and slaughtering it with their swords and torches. As we are being removed from our homes, I can only find comfort in knowing that none of us have been killed, or even seriously harmed. We are being taken to Kakariko Village briefly, before we are taken to Hyrule Castle to be executed in a public display. It is at Kakariko that we hope to plan our escape, but if we do not escape and our time of death is indeed at hand, then let it be known that this is the last recorded message from our humble village. And let it be known to anyone who reads this, that we will not go down without a fight.

Link finished reading the letter and put it in his pocket. The letter was obviously written by Sodo, the boy who watched the vastness. He knew that finding the letter was a miracle, but hadn't a moment to lose. They were all alive. But they didn't have much time left. Link raced towards the shortcut to Zora's Domain to get Epona. He couldn't waste a second, or the survivors of Kokiri Forest would all be executed.

  
Chapter 17  


It took Link nearly two days to get to Kakariko Village from Kokiri Forest. When he arrived, the sun had already set. He nearly collapsed in front of a building. He was completely exhausted, for he had not rested a second in his trip to the village and had nearly suffered numerous panic attacks. How was he going to get this done? He knew he couldn't just ask about them. Before Link could catch his breath, he was approached by a moderately tall man. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had a head of auburn hair. He came out of the Potion Shop. _'He must work there or something,'_ Link thought.

"You look tired, stranger," the man said. "Why don't you come in and rest awhile."

Link didn't want to rest. But the body is weaker than the spirit. He knew his body needed to rest. "Ok," he said. It was all he could say.

The man took the exhausted Link and led him into his home. He laid Link down on his bed. "You just get some rest now," he said. "I'm sure my wife won't mind. We've…sort of taken in strangers before."

_'Yeah. Sleep. That's what I need.'_ Link thought. He was too tired to concentrate on anything else. And Link fell asleep.

* * *

A storm

_'Link…'_

Rain poured down that night.

_'Why did I have to take this life?'_

Trees were blown to their sides.

_'I took this life for my friends, and now they're all dead.'_

And lightning shot down from the skies.

_'There's nothing left to live for, is there?'_

Saria looked down at the ground that had to be 70 feet below her…and jumped.

Then…everything went black.

* * *

_'NO!!!'_ Link got up in a cold sweat. _'Not again,'_ he thought to himself. He couldn't stand seeing that vision of Saria taking her own life. But it was almost a blessing in disguise, for Link remembered why he was in Kakariko in the first place. He decided to begin asking about the abducted Kokiri in the morning, but for now, he just went outside.

He looked up at the sky and thought about many things. He thought about how Malon would have his head, because he had promised he'd be back in a week. She was probably worried sick. He thought about the sick people in this village who found it justifiable to invade a village of Kokiri and just take them against their will to be executed for no reason at all. And he thought about Saria. If he had to walk into the Forest Temple and tell her that everyone she ever knew, the people she spent most of her life with, were all killed...Link shuddered. That might the tragedy that pushes Saria over the edge. And Link couldn't stand to see that.

"Something troubling you, stranger?"

The voice startled Link, but when he turned around he only saw the same man who had welcomed him into his home.

"Uh…no, not really," Link said. He figured he should say something to the man who gave him shelter for one night. "Look, I want to thank you for letting me sleep in your home. I'm in your debt. Uh, what's your name?"

The man sat beside Link and introduced himself. "I am Pofrigitio. And don't worry about it. Consider it a gift. What brings you here, stranger?"

Link didn't know what to say. He couldn't just blurt out that he was looking for a cage full of Kokiri, could he? He thought it might be easier to ease into the subject. "Uh, just passing by. But I really didn't know if I should come by, I heard this place has been busy lately. Especially...the army."

Pofrigitio looked flustered. "Uh…uh…yes, the army did go out a few days ago. They just came back this morning."

"Oh, really?" Link asked. "Just where did they go?"

Pofrigitio was breaking into a nervous sweat. "K-Kokiri Forest."

Link was getting confident. He was getting the information he needed. "And why did they go out into Kokiri Forest?"

"F-For Kokiri, of course. H-Haven't you heard? Kokiri are s-some of most…h-hated things out there in Hyrule right now. Why any self-respecting Hylian s-spits on the name."

Link was beginning to grow angry. "And did they catch any?"

"As a matter of fact, they did. A group of twelve, I believe it was."

"And what's going to happen to them?"

"T-They will be taken to Hyrule Castle to be e-executed."

Link was about to blow. He just needed to ask this man one more question to decide whether or not he should meet the tip of his sword. "And you approve of this, Pofrigitio?"

He smiled nervously. "W-Why yes. W-Why wouldn't I?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T!!" Link blurted out. He began to tower over Pofrigitio, but to Link's surprise, he looked more…relaxed.

"Really? Whew, that's a relief. I didn't want to say it because it's a little embarrassing around these parts, but…"

"THEY'VE ESCAPED!!! THEY'VE ESCAPED!!!"

Before Pofrigitio could finish, he and Link turned around to see someone running towards them.

Pofrigitio had a look of almost false concern on his face. "Why whatever do you mean, Zacchuee?"

Zacchuee ran around nervously. "They've escaped. The Kokiri 12 have escaped."

**"WHAT?!?!"**

Another man, this one looking more imposing and decked out in the clothes of Hylian soldier. _'No,'_ Link thought. _'A Hylian general.'_

Zacchuee looked at the man nervously. "They Kokiri 12 have escaped, Diaphor. No one's seen them or where they went."

A thought came into Link's head. He remembered the note Sodo left, saying that they would plan their escape at Kakariko Village. Apparently, whatever they came up with, it worked.

"Po?" It was the call of Pofrigitio's wife.

"Yes, Iogrotaye?" Po called back.

"Your…ahem…red potions have been…er…stolen."

"Oh, no. Not my red potions," Po said with a look of fake outrage.

Link couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the reactions of Pofrigitio and his wife, Iogrotaye. It's almost as if they don't care that they've been robbed. _'No.'_ Link thought. _'It's almost as if they EXPECTED it.'_

Diaphor broke the silence. "Those cursed Kokiri. They must have stolen the potions. They know they can't survive without them."

"Oh, dear," said Pofrigitio with his fake concern. "I guess this means that we'll just have to give up. No use searching for them, I mean they can be anywhere. And the potion can't last forever, especially for twelve of them. Maybe we should just leave them be."

Diaphor had a look of actual outrage on his face. "You give up too easily, Pofrigitio. I'll lead the army out tomorrow. We'll have those blasted elves back by sundown." Diaphor and Zacchuee left, while Pofrigitio went into the potion shop.

Link knew he wasn't getting the whole story. Pofrigitio was hiding something and Link wanted to find out what it was and what it had to do with his twelve friends.

  
Chapter 18  


Link quietly entered the potion shop. He didn't see a sign of Pofrigitio or his wife.

"For a minute, I thought we'd be caught for sure."

It was Pofrigitio. But Link wanted to know what he was talking about. What was he doing? And why didn't he want anybody to know?

"It's ok, Po," said Iogrotaye. "Diaphor can be so stupid sometimes. I don't think he suspected a thing."

"I think you're right, Io," Po said. "I mean, there's no evidence that the potions weren't actually stolen. They'll never suspect that we actually got them out ourselves."

Link was confused, but began to grow angry. _'HE stole the potions?'_ Link thought. Why would he do that? Then the thought hit Link, _'He's trying to frame my friends. He's trying to frame them for something they didn't do, just because they're Kokiri.'_ It was what a bigot would do. That sickened Link to his stomach and he decided to step out of the shadows. He leaped out of nowhere, with sword in hand and held it against Pofrigitio's chin.

"Hello, friend," Link said.

"S-S-Stranger," Pofrigitio said nervously. "H-How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Link said. "I ought to kill you right now."

"No…stranger, you don't understand."

"NO! I understand perfectly. You took the potions out yourself. So that you could frame the Kokiri 12. But why? They were already getting executed, did you want to see them get tortured too? Do you hate Kokiri that much?" Link was almost shouting now and ready to strike the man down. He had so much hatred for him right then.

"No, stranger. I did it to help them." Po said in a final plea.

"Po, No!" screamed his wife.

"It's okay, Io," said Pofrigitio. "I think he's on our side."

That confused Link. What did he mean by that? He was confused enough to put his sword down. "What are you talking about?"

Pofrigitio looked up at his wife, "Io, I think our secret's been discovered."

Link could only look at him curiously. Help them? What did he mean?

"Sit down, stranger." Po directed him to a couch and sat down with Link. "Maybe I should tell you everything."

  
Chapter 19  


Link didn't know what to make of this situation. A minute ago, he was ready to slice Pofrigitio into a million pieces because he thought he was trying to frame his friends. But now a bunch of questions entered into the mind of Link.

Pofrigitio sat calmly, not knowing how to begin. "Well, maybe I should start with what happened this morning…"

* * *

Pofrigitio was maintaining his potion shop when he heard the blowing of several victory trumpets. It was the Hylian army. He saw them leave earlier, led by Diaphor, but he had no idea what they left for. Then as the army entered the village, Pofrigitio saw a sight that horrified him. They were wheeling in a cage. A cage full of Kokiri, twelve of them. And they, somehow, looked…familiar.

"What do you think of this haul, Pofrigitio?" It seemed that Diaphor read his mind because the next thing he said, "Do they look familiar to you?"

At first, Pofrigitio looked at them closely and didn't recognize them. But then it hit him, like a ton of bricks. "They're from the village. The village!" Pofrigitio remembered the friends of Saria, his surrogate daughter whom he raised for five years while she lost her memory. _'But if these are Saria's friends, then where's Saria?'_ he thought. He looked everywhere and she was nowhere to be seen.

Pofrigitio's blood boiled more than it ever had before. He grabbed Diaphor by the shirt and let his anger take over. "WHERE IS SHE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU BEAST?!"

Diaphor just calmly shrugged him off and a smug grin came across his face, "Oh, you must mean your precious daughter. Terribly sorry, but she's not here…I'm afraid she may be…"

Po didn't let him finish. He grabbed him by the shirt again, "IF YOU HARMED HER IN ANY WAY, THEN I'LL…"

Diaphor shrugged him off more aggressively this time. "You'll do nothing. You can relax, because none of us saw her…as much as I wanted to find her. Let me remind you, peasant, that I now hold more power than you'll ever have. Touch me like that again, and I'll have you thrown in the dungeon." Diaphor turned his back to him and looked at the frightened Kokiri. "As for these little wretches, throw them in the new dungeon in the graveyard."

The Kokiri were taken away. Pofrigitio knew that he couldn't let Diaphor get away with this. That's when he came up with a plan. A plan that would free the Kokiri, at least temporarily. He would strike tonight.

  
Chapter 20  


It was the middle of the night. Every resident of Kakariko village was either asleep or settled into their home for the night, except Pofrigitio. He planned to get the twelve Kokiri out tonight. He crept by most of the houses and into the graveyard, holding a sack of tools. He found the new dungeon that was built over the house of the late grave keeper, Dampe. He saw the guard sitting by the cell. It was Zacchuee. Being so trusted, Pofrigitio decided to take advantage.

"Zacchuee, wake up," Po said as he shook him. "I don't know if you heard, but the thirteenth Kokiri is here. She came to save her friends and she's outside the village right now."

"Really?" asked Zacchuee. "I'd better go get her. But I can't just leave this cell unguarded."

"Don't worry about anything. I'll find someone to guard this cell. You just go get that awful Kokiri."

"I will," Zacchuee said. He got up, took the key and left.

This was the opening Pofrigitio needed. He took out a file and began filing the metal bars. "Ok, don't make a sound. I'll have you all out in just a few seconds."

"Why should we trust you?" demanded one of the Kokiri boys.

"Shut up, Miso." Said one of the girls. "He's sawing the bars off, isn't he?"

"Yeah," said another. "Why would he send the guard out if he didn't want to free us?"

"Because," said another boy. "He wants to kill us himself."

"No, no," said Pofrigitio. "Don't any of you recognize me?"

One of them came up to Pofrigitio and looked him in the eye. It looked like the boy recognized him. "It's you. I remember you. Hey everybody, we can trust this guy."

The Kokiri seemed to be assured by that recommendation. It relieved Po. Maybe he could get them out before anyone noticed. Finally, he got one of the bars off.

"Ok, everybody out." One by one, each of the Kokiri children walked out of the cell. "All right, follow me and don't make a sound."

Pofrigitio led the twelve Kokiri outside near Hyrule Field, but the clock soldier was standing guard as usual. Po calmly sneaked behind the guard and conked him on the head with a brick, knocking him unconscious.

Po looked at the Kokiri. "Well, that was easy enough." He then looked behind the bazaar. "Ok, Io. You can come out now."

Pofrigitio's wife Iogrotaye came out from behind the bazaar wheeling out the cage that brought the Kokiri here. But the cage was filled with red potions. Pofrigitio handed a map to one of the boys.

"Follow this map. I promise that no one will find you there. These red potions will help you all. Take one as soon as you feel the disease of the vastness begin to take effect. I'll be around in a few weeks to bring you some more potions, but for now you need to get out of here before anyone notices you've escaped."

The boy with the map looked at Pofrigitio. "Thank you. We'll never forget this." Then the Kokiri 12 had left, wheeling out the cage full of potions.

Pofrigitio quickly scrambled to get back to the potion shop. He could only imagine the look on Diaphor's face when he finds out that they're all gone.

* * *

Link could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did this man really risk his life to save his friends? Had he been caught, he surely would have been arrested. Why did he help his friends?

Pofrigitio continued. "Anyway, stranger. I hope you see that I tried to help the Kokiri 12, not hurt them."

This was a lot to absorb and Link still felt a little skeptical. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

Po pulled out a large piece of paper, folded into thirds. "This is the map I gave to the Kokiri boy. It shows where they are."

Link's eyes brightened at that sight. "Please, Pofrigitio. Give me the map. I need it."

Po looked suspicious. "I will do no such thing. I don't know if I can trust you. I don't even know who you are."

Link almost felt a little embarrassed. The whole time he had been in the village and he never even introduced himself. "My name is Link."

Pofrigitio almost froze at that announcement. Iogrotaye dropped her glass. An eerie silence filled the room. Link didn't know what to make of the look in Pofrigitio's eyes. It was a look of shock. It was a look of awe. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.

"YOU!!" Pofrigitio shouted in utter amazement. "YOU!! YOU'RE LINK!!"

  
Chapter 21  


Link thought he had the answers to everything. Suddenly, everything took a turn for the weird. Link had never seen this man before in his life, but apparently Pofrigitio knew him. But how?

Pofrigitio looked at his wife. "It's him!" he exclaimed. "This is the Link she was talking about."

Iogrotaye looked dumbfounded. "You mean…that's…him?"

Link was baffled. He had no idea what was going on. "Do…I…know you people?"

Pofrigitio simply smiled. "I don't believe you do. And we don't really know you either. But we have heard of you."

Link was still confused. Were they fans? Link knew he saved Hyrule, but he didn't think he had fans? "Uh…how have you heard of me."

Pofrigitio didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. "We…spent time…with one of your friends. Do you know…a Saria?"

This was too much. Link stood up, but he felt like he needed to lie down. Link thought he had seen everything possible. But how did these people know Saria? "Y-Yes. How do you know about…Saria?"

Pofrigitio looked a little tense. "Uh…y-you better sit down, Link. I think we should have a talk."

* * *

("Thank you very much for your cares, Yedop. I'm sure the child will be quite fine." 

In response, the Happy Mask Shop owner, Yedop, grinned comfortingly and stepped out the door. The man of the house closed the door behind the last of the worrisome visitors that had strolled by that day. Slowly, he spun around and leaned his back up against the door, sighing. That evening, Pofrigitio found himself busier than he ever had been. He had just seen his daughter, Cuellens, come running up to him in tears. He had no idea what she was so distraught about until she told him about a sick girl they found passed out in the marketplace.

Cuellens then led Pofrigitio to his wife, who was kneeling down beside his patient. It was a little girl wearing a strange, black cloak about her body. Even stranger was the green head of short hair under her hair braid. Grimacing at the pool of green vomit that was located just to the side of the ailing child, Pofrigitio quickly knelt down and examined the mysterious person.

She had a scorching fever, and her tongue seemed to have been swelled up. Her pulse was steady, however, her body continued to shiver involuntarily. He asked the many witnesses including his wife what had happened. They told him that she had experienced a coughing fit and collapsed. Whatever illness she had, it showed forth its worse side effects quite quickly....faster than anything Po had ever seen before. Po quickly took the young girl and took her to his house and laid in the bed of their daughter.

Po spent the whole night and all of the next afternoon using his best medicines on the sick girl, but nothing seemed to work as she remained unconscious. Iogrotaye and Cuellens sat by Po and the girl hoping to see some movement. There was none.

"Po..." Iogrotaye looked up at her husband. "What do you think?? Are we having any luck??" Pofrigitio sighed. He moved over and knelt down besides his daughter, stroking his hand through her short, dark hair lovingly. "I don't know, Io. I wish I did know. I tried nearly every medicine for such an extreme case as this. There's still been no response. But all in good time. I've heard of cases in which the patients are out for nearly weeks at a time."

"Yes...but do they have the same disease as this child's?"

"I don't know if it is a disease, honey," the potion man replied. "It seems as if every single part of her body is under attack by whatever's plaguing her. It's nothing like I've ever seen."

"Do you think it's contagious?"

"If it is....it's too late anyhow to make a difference..."

There was a moment of silence. Iogrotaye finally sighed and said, "I'm worried, Po. I'm afraid that she'll die and none of us will ever have a chance to tell her how sorry we are. I yelled at her, Po. Well...maybe not YELLED at her...but...I didn't show her much of a loving expression when I met her. If only I knew that she was just confused by this ailment....I wouldn't have been so harsh on her."

Pofrigitio remembered a few words of news that he and his wife had exchanged throughout the day. "What exactly did the child do that made you become riled up in the first place, Io?"

"You'd better ask Cuellens on that, dear."

Po looked down at Cuellens hoping for an answer, "Cuellens? Do you remember what our little visitor said to you before she got sick?"

Cuellens eyes watered as she searched for the answer, "S-she grabbed my arm, daddy. She told me something about me going back to some sort of forest! She told me to leave you guys before I'd surely die, or something like that."

"My goodness, Po!" Iogrotaye looked up into her husband's eyes. "Just what do you suppose that means?"

Pofrigitio shrugged, "The child may have been having a delusion. From what I can tell, her sickness is intense enough to spark just about anything!"

"But how do we know she wasn't spatting out nonsense?" Iogrotaye said. "She's so different, Po. Just look at her hair! Have you ever seen hair like that?!"

Pofrigitio took a deep breath as he looked. Yes, he knew. He had graced upon the invalid's green hair all afternoon. It was strange indeed, yet seemingly natural to the young person. "Zacchuee, the Bazaar owner, talked to me earlier and told me what he heard from one of the guards," Pofrigitio began. "Apparently, upon entering and meeting the front guard of the city, the girl shrunk away from him in terror...as though she had never seen such a person in her life. What's even more fascinating is that she asked the guard an odd question. She asked, 'What are you?' quite earnestly. From the looks of it, she truly meant her question."

Iogrotaye shook her head, sadly, "I wonder what kind of parents may have done this to her....to make her so downcast..."

Cuellens gripped hard to her dad's hand. Pofrigitio placed his hand on her small shoulder curiously, "What, precious?"

"Daddy," the girl swallowed. "Is she going to die??"

Po didn't know what the answer to that was. He tried to assure his daughter. "Oh honey.....don't worry. Everything's going to be all right...I promise."

Just then, their patient moaned. Iogrotaye gasped. Cuellens looked up from behind her dad's shoulder with shock. Pofrigitio quickly let go of his daughter and wandered over to the small bedside. The green-haired girl stirred, wincing in unknown pain, her eyes still closed. He placed his fingers onto her neck for a moment and bore a slight grin. "She's coming to. Quick!! Get me my medicine!"

Cuellens ran into the other room and hurried back with a bottle of gray liquid in her hand. She handed it to her mom, who quickly popped the lid off with her strong hands and handed it to Pofrigitio. The potion man hastily took the bottle and aimed it down the lip of the invalid's mouth, holding and propping up her head with his other hand. Silently, the little girl sipped down the potion and was laid back down, moaning less violently.

"Is she awake?" Iogrotaye asked.

"Not quite," the husband replied. He stood up and faced his wife. "Only in a subconscious state. We can expect that to occur on and off till I give her a dosage of a waking potion."

"....Link..."

The mother gasped and held her daughter closely. Pofrigitio spun around and looked down at the little girl.

".....Link...." she moaned again.

"Oh my...," Iogrotaye breathed. "Does she know what she's saying, Po?"

"Just like I said," the husband knelt down by the bedside and stared at the girl's face anxiously.

"...she's in a subconscious state. We might be able to communicate with her."

"Then let's try, honey."

"That I am," he said. He swallowed and spoke softly into the invalid's long ear, "Can you hear me, little girl?"

A moment of silence. The child slowly nodded her head, wincing in pain.

"Good...that's a good girl....now can you tell me--"

"Link...," the girl moaned. Pofrigitio looked perplexed. Nevertheless, he let the child say her unwitting speech. "...Link....must save Link......he needs help....I need him...the village needs him....must save Link....must....." The child coughed violently twice and continued, "....m-must go back to forest......go back to forest and live...."

Pofrigitio didn't know what to make of this. Nevertheless, he spoke, "Why? Why, little girl? Why must you go back to the forest?"

The girl swallowed, "It's where I live..."

"You live in the forest?"

".....yes......must save Link...."

"Who's Link?"

".....must save Link...."

The man decided to pose a simpler question to the ailing mind, "Tell me, little girl....what is your name??"

".....my name......."

"Yes."

"......Saria......Saria is my name...."

"Saria?" Pofrigitio continued.

"Yes...."

"Where do you live?"

".....the forest..."

"Where's the 'forest'?"

"....must save Link....must....s-a-v-e.........." Saria went back to sleep.)1

  
Chapter 22  


"That night, Hyrule Castle Town was invaded by Ganondorf," Pofrigitio continued. "We took Saria and made our home here. The illness was so bad that she lost her memory. She didn't remember who she was or where she was from. Io and I thought it would be best if we raised her as our own daughter. We occasionally gave her red potions whenever the illness would pop up. But whenever she relapsed, she would always call out for 'Link.'…" Po looked up at the Hero of Time. "…which is you."

Link couldn't believe what he just heard. Saria went out looking for Link. She risked her life to find him, so that he may come back. She succumbed to the disease of the vastness, while Link was spending seven years in the Sacred Realm. That ate away at Link. His accursed quest had struck again. Only the end result could have turned out more tragic than he ever could have imagined. If it wasn't for the man and woman standing in front of him, his best friend would have died. There was nothing in the world he could do to express his gratitude to them.

"H-How long…?" He couldn't finish his question. This was too much to absorb.

Pofrigitio answered him anyway. "Five years. She stayed with us five years until she finally regained her memory…and we took her back to the forest."

Link felt that he was in no position to ask for the map. There was no reason he should get the map. He owed Pofrigitio so much. "Po, I'm in your debt. You have no idea what could have happened if she died…"

"Link, it's ok…"

"NO! You saved my best friend. I owe you everything. But right now, I'm begging you. Please…give me the map."

"Io, please leave the room." Link saw Iogrotaye leave and saw a sobering look on the face of Pofrigitio. It looked like he was going to collect on that debt. "Ok, Link. I'll give you the map on one condition. I need you to answer a few questions…TRUTHFULLY!"

Link was ready to answer any question Po had for him. Anything to get the map. "Ok, shoot."

Po began. "I didn't see Saria with the Kokiri 12. Is she really dead?"

"No," Link said. "She's very much alive."

Po continued. "If she wasn't in her village, then where is she?"

Link couldn't tell him. How would he take it? This man raised Saria for five years as his daughter. He couldn't…

"WHERE?! I want the TRUTH!"

"She's…she's…"

"WHERE?! TELL ME!!"

"She's in the Forest Temple. She's been there for the last five years."

"Forest Temple? Why?"

"You don't want to know…"

"Oh, yes I do," Po interrupted. "Why? What's she doing in there?"

_'Not much,'_ he thought sarcastically. But he didn't say much.

"Link, answer me. WHY?!"

Link couldn't stall anymore. He needed the map. "She's the Forest Sage. She's been the Forest Sage for five years and she has to stay in the temple for the rest of her life."

Pofrigitio looked curious. "Doesn't it get lonely in there?"

Link could have easily made a smart remark, but now wasn't the time. "Unfortunately, yes. She rarely gets any visitors."

Pofrigitio looked sad. "I...just needed to know. I didn't see Saria brought in by Diaphor, so I assumed she might be hurt or dead. But I didn't expect to hear this. I can only imagine the pain she must be in."

_'You have NO idea,'_ Link thought. "She really is lonely. It was so bad that when I went to see her, she was trying to…c-commit suicide."

Link saw that the revelation of Saria's attempted suicide hurt Po deeply. "I…had…no idea it was that bad."

Link continued. "It wasn't just the loneliness that got to her. It was not knowing how her friends were. She hasn't seen them since the end of the Imprisoning War. She doesn't even know if they're alive."

Po raised his head. "That's why you want this map. You want to see the Kokiri 12. But tell me something, Link. Do you really think that merely knowing they're all right now is enough?"

Link looked at Pofrigitio curiously, "What do you mean?"

Po continued. "I mean, think about it. They could be all right today. But they lost their village. And by tomorrow, an entire army is going to be hunting them down. Sure, they'll be ok today. But what about tomorrow? Or the next day? And how long will the red potion last? There's already talk that the army's going to destroy the crop that makes up the red potion. They can't possibly last."

That reality struck Link hard. "You're right. The village IS gone. There's nothing left. The only part of the forest left where the Kokiri could possibly survive is in the Lost Woods. Or…" A light bulb went off in the head of Link. He felt so stupid for not thinking of this before. "…That's it!"

Pofrigitio was puzzled. "What? What's it?"

Link had a smile a mile wide. He had the perfect solution. "The Sacred Forest Meadow. They can stay at the Sacred Forest Meadow. They can live right below Saria. They'll all have a home. They won't have to worry about the vastness. And Saria won't have to worry about not knowing if her friends are ok."

The potion shop owner seemed to pick up on what Link was saying. "You might have something there." Po realized he still had the map. "Thank you, Link. I feel much better knowing Saria's going to be ok." He handed Link the map.

"Thank you, Pofrigitio. That's another one I owe you." Link began to head towards the door.

"Think nothing of it, Link. It's getting early, we better get ready to go."

Link stopped dead in his tracks. "We? Who said anything about we?"

Pofrigitio smiled. "You can't suggest that I stay here. I have to lead you there. They won't know you. They trust me. It'll be easier that way."

Link wasn't convinced. "I beg to differ. They'll recognize me. And I don't want to risk you getting caught helping Kokiri. You could be executed."

Po wasn't backing down either. "I don't care. I know I have a wife and child. But Saria was my daughter too. And I want to see her happy. Even if I have to risk execution by escorting twelve Kokiri to the Lost Woods. If I have to confront Diaphor and his army, then so be it. I'd rather die fighting than see a jackal like that have his way with innocent Kokiri."

Link didn't want to bring him. There was no need to risk a family man like this.

"Link…you said you owe me."

Link knew he was defeated. He did say that and he meant it. "Ok, you can come. Get your things."

  
Chapter 23  


Diaphor was gathering his army of 30. While he didn't have a large army, he knew it would be enough to overwhelm twelve Kokiri children. He couldn't believe that the wretched brats escaped in the first place. He had to ask the guard, Zacchuee, how it happened.

He approached the large bazaar owner and asked his question. "How did they escape? You were supposed to be watching them. Can you explain to me how twelve Kokiri managed to get past you?"

Zacchuee sheepishly answered, "I may have briefly left my post."

Diaphor was nearly fuming. "Why would you leave your post?"

"I heard that the thirteenth Kokiri was outside trying to save her friends."

Diaphor thought about that. The green-haired girl? Trying to save her friends? Diaphor remembered the one called Saria. Everyone in the village loved her, even Diaphor. But she was a Kokiri and there was no such thing as a good elf. A good elf is a dead elf.

He remembered the defiance her friends put up seven years ago when he, Pofrigitio, and his wife Harpyana tried to bring them to Kakariko the first time. He proclaimed that the Kokiri be taken to live in Kakariko and they laughed at him. When Diaphor brought an army to their village, they tried to defend themselves with child-like weapons like bows and slingshots. The army refused to attack 'children' and again made Diaphor look foolish for wanting to do so. He remembered Saria being among the more vocal of the Kokiri who condemned them for trying to take them away. Diaphor couldn't believe it. They wanted to protect them. And in return, they made Diaphor look like a fool.

But how did he know that the emerald girl was coming? "Who told you that the thirteenth Kokiri was here?"

"It was Pofrigitio. He told me that he'd find someone else to watch the cell and when I came back, they were all gone."

Pofrigitio? Of course. He always loved the Kokiri. He was the one person to challenge him when he wanted to bring the army to their village that day seven years ago. Now that he thought of it, the potion shop owner didn't seem too concerned when he found out he was robbed. It may have been a setup the whole time.

"Hmm…I'm starting to think that our good friend, Pofrigitio, had something to do with this breakout. I think we'd better go ask him a few questions." Diaphor was about to walk out, when he noticed something. It was Pofrigitio and that stranger he saw earlier, decked in Kokiri clothing. He also noticed they were carrying red potions. _'But wait. I thought all his potions…were…stolen,'_ he thought.

Diaphor knew that Pofrigitio was up to something. If he did indeed have something to do with the escape of the Kokiri 12, then he might know where they are.

"Men," Diaphor shouted. "Get ready. When those two start riding, we follow them."

  
Chapter 24  


Link and Pofrigitio had been riding for hours. They looked to be headed around where Link came, which was Zora's River. Po turned a corner Link had never noticed before.

"This way," Po said, holding the map. "It's around here somewhere."

Link looked around in amazement. "In all the years I've traveled, I can't believe I never noticed this place before."

The potion shop owner smiled. "Hardly anybody knows about this place. I knew it'd be a perfect hiding place for them."

Po stopped his horse and so did Link. "Hello?" shouted Pofrigitio. "It's me, Pofrigitio. I've come back with a visitor."

Link and Po heard nothing but silence. That is, until three forms stepped out of the shadows. It was the Know-It-All brothers. They had each come out…holding bows each pointed at Link and Pofrigitio.

  
Author's Note- the ()1 was an excerpt from Saria's Story: Shimmering Emerald, by Post Rapture. I did change some of the words to make it a little shorter, but I acknowledge that the excerpt is taken right out of his story. I want to give credit now, before anyone comes to me accusing me of plagiarism. (Hey, I said in the very beginning that it's 90% original.)  
  
Comments? Review below or send any comments to HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com


	4. Chapter 4: Finding the 12 Kokiri

Author's note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Ides of Diamonds, Mihaele Rose, and the other countless authors whose works I've read since May. I also thank my impatience, as it has served its only use. It has me working day and night on a fic that I want to see myself finish. I'd like to give credit to Post Rapture, Juliet and Kirstey Singleton, Ides of Diamonds, and any other author whose original characters or excerpts (no, no excerpts this time. All 100% original.) from their stories I may have used. The last thing I want to do is step on any toes.  
  
And PLEASE!!! Read and Review!!!  
  
Chapter 25  


Link was surprised to see the Know-It-All brothers. Not because it had been such a long time, but because he thought for sure they would recognize him. But apparently, they hadn't because they were standing there pointing arrows at him and Pofrigitio.

"Uh…hey, guys." Link said nervously. "Remember me?"

Dila spoke first. "I knew it. We shouldn't have trusted this guy. He brought someone out to kill us."

"Pofrigitio has betrayed us," Sofa said angrily.

"Last time we listen to Mido," said Dore in his usual, cynical tone.

"No, you don't understand," Po said. "Don't you recognize this man?"

"Never seen him before," said Dore. "But we know he's a Hylian. And Hylians can't be trusted." Dore looked at his two brothers. "Prepare to fire, bros."

"STOP!!!"

The Know-It-All brothers laid down their bows at that scream. And it didn't come from either Link or Pofrigitio. It came from another boy who stepped out of the shadows. It was Sodo. The young, peaceful boy walked between Link and Po and The Know-It-All brothers.

"Have you guys already forgotten that this man saved us?" Sodo said pointing at Pofrigitio. "Don't we at least owe him the benefit of the doubt? Don't we at least owe him a chance to explain?"

"We don't owe him anything," said Dore. "He did save us, but he's still a Hylian. And we can't trust Hylians."

"But we can trust this one."

It was another voice. Link turned his head to see someone else. It was Somi, one of Saria's best friends. "Don't you know who this is," she said pointing at Po. "This was Saria's father. He took care of her. He brought her back to us."

"We're Kokiri," said Dila. "We don't have any parents. And when he did bring Saria back, he tried to take us all away."

"That wasn't him!" exclaimed Sodo. "It was that mean Diaphor. This man isn't like Diaphor."

"Hylians are all the same," said Sofa.

"Not this one," said Sodo. "He's a friend. He was friend enough to set us free. And he was friend enough to make sure we're all here this morning, instead of at Hyrule Castle getting ready to be executed."

The Know-It-All brothers remained silent. They didn't like Hylians, but Sodo made a valid point.

Sodo looked at Pofrigitio. "Well, we got you this chance to explain. Explain. Why are you here? And who is this?"

Po began to speak, but was stopped by Link. "Sodo, Somi, don't you remember me?" he asked.

Sodo and Somi began to look closer at the young man decked in Kokiri clothing.

"It can't be," Sodo said in shock.

Somi made the first guess. "Link? Is that you?"

Link only nodded. He saw a smile cross the faces of Somi and Sodo.

"Hey, everybody!!" Somi shouted. "It's Link!!"

Link and Po noticed that the other Kokiri began coming out of the shadows. Miso, Fala, Ralo, Rala, Domi, Mira, and Mido all came out and looked at Link in amazement.

"Is it really him?"

"Where did he come from?"

"I thought he was dead."

"I thought he wasn't coming back."

"How did he find us?"

"Why is he here?"

"Uh, oh," Dore said. The Know-It-All brothers picked up their weapons again and pointed them at Link. This time though, they were trembling in fear.

"He's come back for r-revenge," said Dila.

"I knew he was a freak, but I didn't think he was a Hylian," Sofa said nervously.

"D-Don't come any closer," said Dore. "We know how to use these."

Link looked surprised. For the first time in his life, the Know-It-All brothers were shaking in fear in front of Link. It was something he'd always wanted to see when he was growing up back in Kokiri Forest. But this isn't what he wanted now. He wanted to help them. He wanted their trust. And he wouldn't get their trust if they were afraid of him.

"Guys, I'm not here to hurt you," said Link, putting his hands up.

"Why should we believe you?" Dore demanded.

"Yeah, we thought Hylians were bad because they wanted to kill us for no reason," Sofa said. "But you're even worse. You're a Hylian with a motive."

"HEY!!! Put those down!"

That voice was unmistakable. Link had heard the voice so many times. It was that of Mido.

"Link's not here to hurt us," said Mido. "If he wanted to, he could've wiped us all out a long time ago."

"How do you know he doesn't want to kill us, Mido?" questioned Dore.

Mido looked more serious than Link had ever seen him before. "Because I talked to him five years ago. He had a chance to strike me down. He could have easily done it. Frankly, if he did, I wouldn't blame him. I mean, out of all of us, I think we can all agree that I gave Link the most grief. And he had a chance five years to take that sword of his and chop my head off. But instead, he chose to forgive me and I thank God for that. No, I don't believe Link's here to kill us." But Mido looked up at Link with a look of curiosity. "But…why are you here?"

Link looked out towards the Kokiri 12. "I came to help you. I don't know how to say this exactly, but I've found a new place for you to live."

At the sound of that, the Know-It-All brothers again raised their bows.

"Oh, no," said Dila. "No, no, no. We've heard this before."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Link asked with a tone of confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us," Dore said. "The last time someone said they had a place for us to live, we had an army come in to take us to Kakariko. No way! We're not falling for that one again!"

"Yeah," Sofa added. "What do we look like? A bunch of gullible kids?" Link smiled and began to say something… "Answer that, and I'll shoot," said Sofa. Link didn't say anything.

"No, you don't understand," Link began. "It's not to Kakariko or anywhere near Kakariko. In fact, when you go there, you'll never have to worry about seeing Diaphor or his army ever again."

The Know-It-All brothers began to lower their bows again. "Go on," said Dore. "We're listening."

"It's not exactly the old village, but it is near the forest," continued Link. "In fact, it's the Sacred Forest Meadow."

This got the Kokiri 12 talking. They wondered if this was a trick. They wondered if it was really possible for them to go live in the Sacred Forest Meadow.

It was Dore who finally broke the silence. "Ok, we're going to have a vote on it. We'll be out later with our answer." With that, all the Kokiri 12 entered the giant tent placed within the shadows. All except two. Somi and Sodo stayed out there with Link and Pofrigitio.

Sodo broke the silence. "We…have a few questions."

  
Chapter 26  


Link was sitting on a log beside Somi and Sodo. Pofrigitio had gone to gather water from the river. "Well…" Link began. "You guys had questions. Go ahead, shoot." After being threatened so many times by the arrows of the Know-It-All brothers, Link wondered if it was the best time to use the word 'shoot.'

"Well…" Somi began. "How did you know we were here?"

"I asked Pofrigitio," Link answered. "He led me here."

Somi frowned a little. "That's…not exactly what I meant. I meant…how do you know we were taken in the first place?"

"Oh," Link said. He didn't say anything. He just pulled out a piece of paper.

Sodo recognized it immediately. "Hey, my note."

"Yeah," Link said, "I saw it near the tunnel to the vastness. I got to the village pretty soon after you guys were abducted." He could almost imagine what they went through, but his curiosity got the better of him that moment. "Can I ask you guys a question?"

"Sure," Somi answered. "What it is?"

"What was it like? Seeing the army come in? Watching them destroy everything? Being thrown in the cage?"

Sodo and Somi sat there silent for a moment. Link felt ashamed and stupid for asking. How insensitive of him to ask about such a traumatizing moment.

Surprisingly, Sodo broke the silence. "Well, it wasn't something that I'd care to remember. But it's something that I'll sure never forget…"

* * *

Sodo was bored. He had wanted to fall asleep that day. He had been watching the bridge to the vastness again, as he had everyday for as long as he could remember. But it was years since anybody crossed the bridge. The last person he saw cross the bridge, was a Hylian about five years ago. No one had been around since then. But suddenly he heard footsteps coming from outside the vastness. The footsteps sounded like they were coming closer.

"Hey, everybody!" Sodo shouted. "I think we have visitors."

Everyone began coming towards the tunnel to see who was coming. The figures couldn't be made out. Suddenly they could be seen. It looked like an army. There had to be at least thirty of them. They were each carrying torches. As if that weren't enough to declare their hostile intentions, they were chanting something that brought a chill down the spine of each of the twelve Kokiri.

They were chanting, _"Death To All Elves."_

"Hey," Miso said nervously. "You don't think they mean us, do you?"

"I don't see any other elves around," Rala said, obviously panicked.

"Oh, no," Fala said. "It's the Hylians. They're back."

"I thought they weren't coming back," said Ralo, Fala's twin sister.

Mido and Dore stood in front of the other ten panicking Kokiri. "Stop!" Dore shouted. "People, the time is upon us. Everybody get in position. If we go down, we'll go down fighting."

The Know-It-All brothers got out their weapons and prepared to fight. The Hylians were crossing the bridge.

  
Chapter 27  


The battle was over. The Kokiri had lost. To make it worse, it wasn't even a long battle. The only good thing to come out of this, was that none of the Kokiri had been killed or even seriously hurt. But that would soon change. They were all thrown into a cage and were to be taken to Kakariko village, before going to Hyrule Castle to be executed.

The twelve Kokiri were nearly all in tears. They were witnessing their homes being burned to the ground. They witnessed the village they had grown up in their whole lives, being destroyed. And they noticed their guardian, the Deku Tree, being butchered ruthlessly by the cold Hylians. The Kokiri could not keep silent during this, their worst hour.

"No, don't do this."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Stop, that's enough."

"Please, stop."

"No, not the Deku Tree!"

But the voices all went silent at once. A large Hylian approached the cage. He looked to be the leader, but worse for Sodo and the other eleven Kokiri, he looked familiar.

"Hello, kiddies," he growled. "Remember ME?!?!"

The twelve Kokiri were frozen in fear. It was Dore who confirmed the worst. "Diaphor!"

"That's right, you little brats. I told you I'd be back. And this time, it's nice and legal."

Sodo couldn't believe those words. He couldn't believe that this act of hatred and brutality was completely justified.

Diaphor turned around and addressed his army. "Get ready to take them. We'll go back to the village and take them to their public execution tomorrow. An execution which I will see to…**PERSONALLY!**"

Sodo had only one hope. He had a paper and pencil from earlier. He was going to use it to help relieve him of boredom that day. Instead, he began writing a note, praying to God that someone would find it:

**To whoever finds this,**

We never saw it coming. I sat by, watching the vastness as I did everyday, and I saw an army approach. It was an army of at least 30. They all carried torches and began a chant that could only bring a chill to the spine of every Kokiri. "Death To All Elves," they shouted. They came wheeling in a cage and demanded we surrender. We all fought back, but the Hylian giants quickly overwhelmed us. They threw us all in the cage and began setting fire to all our homes. As I write this, they are taking our guardian, the Deku Tree, and slaughtering it with their swords and torches. As we are being removed from our homes, I can only find comfort in knowing that none of us have been killed, or even seriously harmed. We are being taken to Kakariko Village briefly, before we are taken to Hyrule Castle to be executed in a public display. It is at Kakariko that we hope to plan our escape, but if we do not escape and our time of death is indeed at hand, then let it be known that this is the last recorded message from our humble village. And let it be known to anyone who reads this, that we will not go down without a fight.

It may not have been a big help, but Sodo knew that if Kokiri did indeed die the next day, this would be the last record left by his village. Something someone could remember them by. The cage began moving as they were all taken into the vastness. And behind them, Sodo could see fire being set to the bridge. The bridge he had spent his whole life guarding.

* * *

"It was something that I'd never forget," Sodo continued. "There were so many times I wanted to be taken off guard duty. But when I saw that bridge go up in flames, a part of myself went with it. I…" Sodo was stopped. He fell to his knees coughing violently. Link had no idea what was happening.

"Link!" It was Pofrigitio. "It's the disease of the vastness. Quick, give him some potion!!"

Link began panicking. He never knew it was this bad. Sodo began throwing up green vomit. He didn't think it was possible, but the disease of the vastness was even worse than Pofrigitio had described it. Somi quickly handed him a bottle of red potion and gave it to Sodo. He drank it and his coughing fit stopped almost instantly.

"Link," Sodo said, still coughing a bit. "You have no idea how bad that feels."

"Link?" Somi asked. "You said you found the note, but why were you in the village in the first place? It's been five years. Why did you come?"

Link knew that he had only one answer to that. "I came to see if you were all ok."

Sodo looked at him strangely. "You…never cared for our well-being before…why the sudden change of heart?"

Link couldn't beat around the bush on this one. He had to come right out and say it. "It wasn't exactly for me…it was…for…Saria."

Link saw Sodo and Somi's jaws drop open on that one. The shock on their faces was beyond description. They were dumbfounded.

It was Somi who finally broke the long silence. "SARIA?! YOU SAW SARIA?! WHERE IS SHE?! IS SHE OK?! WHERE HAS SHE BEEN?!"

Somi was out of breath, so Sodo decided to continue for her. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD! LINK, IS SHE REALLY ALIVE?! WHERE IS SHE?! TELL US! PLEASE!"

Link tried to start, but Somi caught her breath and yelled towards the tent. "HEY, EVERYBODY! SARIA'S ALIVE!"

The other ten Kokiri ran out immediately upon hearing that.

"You mean she's really alive?"

"Where is she?"

"Where has she been?"

"Where did she disappear to for five years?"

"I thought she was dead."

"I thought she was killed by the vastness"

"I thought the monsters killed her."

Link realized at that moment…that he had A LOT of explaining to do.

  
Chapter 28  


Link heard the barrage of questions being thrown at him. He couldn't take so much. "HEY! HOLD IT!" The anxious Kokiri 12 grew silent. "One at a time."

"Is Saria really alive?"

"Yes," Link said. "She's alive and…" Link didn't actually know if she was well. "...she's alive."

"Where did she go?"

"Um, she went to the Forest Temple."

"Why?"

"She saw all the monsters in the village and decided to go look for herself." Link said. It was the best answer he could think of.

"Where is she now?"

"She's…still there," Link frowned. "She became the Forest Sage. And she has to live the rest of her life in the temple.

"Doesn't she have any friends in there?"

Link's heart crumbled. He knew the harsh answer to that question. "With the exception of one or two, no."

Mido stood up. "Link? Having to live alone in the temple sounds awful. Having no friends, not being able to say goodbye to her old friends. Why did she do it?"

Link honestly didn't know the answer to that question himself. But he did remember what Saria told him. "She did it for Hyrule. She did it for me. And…she did it for all of you. She sacrificed her life, so that you may all live yours peacefully."

Mido thought about that answer. Suddenly, he got a determined look on his face and turned around to face the other eleven Kokiri. "Ok, everybody. We're being faced with a decision. We know that we won't be able to live out here much longer. The red potion won't last much longer and we can't ask Pofrigitio to keep risking his life to send us supplies. Now Link has come here this day, after all we did to him, to offer us salvation. He has offered us the Sacred Forest Meadow. There, we will no longer be dependent on this red stuff to help us keep living. We can live happily for the rest of our days without having to worry about creeps like Diaphor or anyone else who lives for the bloodshed of Kokiri."

Mido looked at Link. "But I'm sorry, Link. We can't accept. We say Deku nuts to the Sacred Forest Meadow. We want the temple."

Link grew surprised by that. It's not exactly what he had in mind, but it was an idea.

Mido turned around and continued. "Saria's lived five years being lonely in that old temple. And why? For us. Did she have to do it? No. But she did it all for us. She took a life of eternal solitude for us. Well, now we're going to pay her back. She won't have to rot in that old temple by herself anymore. We'll all rot with her!!"

The other eleven Kokiri erupted in cheers.

"Our old lives have ended. We have no village. We have no homes or treehouses. We have no Deku Tree. But when we get to that temple, we will have one thing. And that's each other. My friends, when we get to the temple, we will no longer be the Kokiri 12, but we will be 13 once more. And mark my words, we will be a family united for the rest of our lives!!"

Again, cheers erupted from the rest of the Kokiri 12.

Dore spoke next. "Mido, I believe I speak for all of us when I say that, for once, you've actually made a good decision." The Kokiri cheered. "I think it's time to vote. All those for joining Saria in the Forest Temple say 'I'."

"I!!!!" Shouted everyone in unison.

Dore smiled. "Then it's unanimous. We leave immediately."

The Kokiri 12 were putting up their tents and getting ready to leave. Link and Pofrigitio had accomplished more than they anticipated. They had gotten them to agree to living at the Forest Temple. And Link knew that Saria wouldn't be lonely any longer.

"Well," Mido said. "We're all ready."

"Ok," said Link. "Let's go." They began on their way when…

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU LITTLE WRETCHES!!!"

They all turned around. It was the last thing Link wanted to see. It was Diaphor. And he was standing in front of his army.

"You're coming with me, you little brats. **CHARGE!!!**"

  
Comments? Please review below or send any comments to HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com


	5. Chapter 5: Returning to the Forest Templ...

Author's note: Thank you to Post Rapture, DoomRater, Ides of Diamonds, Mihaele Rose, and the other countless authors whose works I've read since May. I also thank my impatience, as it has gotten me this far (It's the conclusion, baby. YEAH!). I'd like to give credit to Post Rapture, Juliet and Kirstey Singleton, Ides of Diamonds, and any other author whose original characters or excerpts (There is…a certain character who makes a cameo.) from their stories I may have used. The last thing I want to do is step on any toes.  
  
And PLEASE!!! It's the probably the only time in my life my creative juices have ever flowed like this, so Read and Review!!!  
  
Chapter 29  


Link finally accomplished what he wanted. He found his old friends, the Kokiri 12, and was ready to go to the Forest Temple. But Diaphor and his army had found them and they were now charging. Link did the only thing he could do. He stood right in their path. He dared them to run over the Hero of Time. Just as Link suspected, they stopped in the nick of time. That's when Diaphor made his way towards Link.

"Step aside, Hero of Time," he demanded. "This has nothing to do with you. It's none of your business. It's between us and the Kokiri."

"No, Diaphor!" Link shot back. "That's where you're wrong. These are my friends. You want to take my friends so you can kill them, just because of what they are? Just because they are what they are? Just because you can't understand them? Then…yeah…IT'S MY BUSINESS!!!"

Diaphor didn't look phased. "You think you scare me? I have the law on my side. The law clearly states that all Kokiri are to be arrested on sight. It's not my fault. I didn't make the law."

"No, but other bigots like you did!" shouted Pofrigitio. "Bigots who, rather than try and understand, kill what they cannot understand."

Diaphor smirked. "The law is the law. And I say I take those little brats, NOW!"

Link was filling with rage, but it was Pofrigitio who unleashed his rage first. "You're full of it, Diaphor! You know very well you're not doing this to uphold the law, but to get your personal revenge! You didn't go to such great lengths to find these Kokiri to uphold the law! You did it because they humiliated you! You did it because they made you look like a fool! And you can't accept that! You HAVE to take these Kokiri! You have to see them squirm! Not to uphold the law, the law is merely a guise! You're doing this to satisfy your horrible thirst for vengeance! YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!"

Again, Diaphor wasn't phased. In fact, his evil smirk began to widen. "Maybe so, Pofrigitio. But face it, elf lover. You can't win, you're outnumbered. I have 30 men behind me who say those little miscreants are coming with me. And I have 30 men who are willing to testify against you. Because by the end of the night you will be in the dungeon for fraternization with Kokiri. And mark my words, you will be convicted and you will be executed!!"

Link suddenly saw that it was indeed true. They were outnumbered. Even the Hero of Time couldn't fight against an army of 30 bigots, who would stop at nothing to take the Kokiri 12.

"Men, advance on them!"

And the Hylian army began to move towards the Kokiri 12, Pofrigitio, and Link.

  
Chapter 30  


Link had his sword out. He and Pofrigitio had tried everyone to keep this conflict from turning violent. But it was all to no avail. The 30 soldiers were all approaching Link and his friends. Link was ready for a fight.

"STOP!!!"

Link heard the voice echo out of nowhere. He had never heard that voice before. Then he saw, up above him on a ledge. The figure jumped off the ledge and landed between Link and Diaphor's army. He was a Hylian soldier of moderately tall height. Had he come to join the fight? And if so, on whose side?

The Hylian stranger approached Link, with his sword drawn, and stood beside him. _'Guess that answers my question,'_ Link thought.

But rather than attack, the stranger began to speak to the army. "Friends. Fellow soldiers. Look at yourselves. You are about to engage in a battle with the Hero of Time. The man who saved Hyrule from destruction at the hands of Ganondorf, King of Evil. And for what? For the lives of twelve innocent Kokiri? What have these Kokiri ever done to you? What have they ever done to anybody, for that matter? These Kokiri 12 have committed no crime. The only thing they are guilty of, is trying to defend their homes, which your insane leader has interpreted as a crime punishable by death. Yes, they humiliated him. They made him look like a fool. But I ask you, fellow soldiers, what right did this man have to remove them from their homes in the first place? I'll tell you. He had none. He had no right. Just like he has no right to condemn these Kokiri 12 to their deaths. For he does it not to enforce the law, but he does it for his twisted satisfaction and for his personal revenge. Fellow soldiers, before you strike upon the Hero of Time and carry out the bidding of this madman, I ask you to do what is right. Not what is right in the eyes of the law. Not what is right in the eyes of your cruel leader. But what is right in the eyes of God. Search your hearts! You know that this is not what God wants! This is not the right thing to do! I beg of you, fellow soldiers, do now what you know is right!!!"

Link was moved by that speech. And he wasn't the only one. Everyone in the Hylian army had stopped advancing. Would they do what's right? Everyone in the Hylian army seemed to be impacted by that speech, except for…

"What are you waiting for, you idiots?!" Diaphor shouted. "I said ATTACK!"

The Hylian army stood still. It was Zacchuee, the bazaar owner, who spoke. "No, Diaphor. We're through listening to you. This man's right. This isn't for the law. This is for you. The Kokiri have done no wrong. It is you who are doing wrong. Wrong by trying to take their lives for your revenge. And wrong by destroying the only home they've known. Well we're through doing what's wrong. It's time we do what's right for a change." Zacchuee looked towards the Kokiri 12. "We only hope you can forgive us for what we've done."

None of the Kokiri 12 moved, except for Mido. "Yes. We'll forgive you."

Diaphor's smirk faded a long time ago. It was replaced by anger and clenched teeth. "Zacchuee, don't you listen to this elf lover. He'll be in prison by the end of the day. Him and Pofrigitio for fraternizing with Kokiri. You're all witnesses…"

Zacchuee interrupted him by looking at the army. "I didn't see anything. Did any of you see anything?"

To Link's surprise and delight, the entire army shook their heads. Link also saw a smile come across the face of the Hylian stranger.

Zacchuee continued. "Then it's over, Diaphor. We're leaving." The army turned around and started leaving.

Diaphor had a look of rage. "NO! Get back here! You can't do this to me! Do you know who I am?!"

Dore couldn't help but revel in the woe of the man who destroyed their village. "Ha, some leader you are!" The Kokiri 12 began laughing.

That pushed Diaphor over the edge. He unleashed his sword and began walking towards the Kokiri 12. "You accursed little wretches! I'll kill you all myself! Then we'll see who's laughing!" And Diaphor raised his sword.

  
Chapter 31  


Link made his move like lightning. His sword met the sword of Diaphor before it came down. The swords were now clashing. They matched each other nearly move for move. But of course, this is Hero of Time, so this couldn't last long. Indeed it didn't as Link thrust Diaphor's sword out of his hand and knocked him to the ground with his boot. Link now had the man in a position he had wanted him in so badly. He had his sword right under his chin. After all he'd done. This man burned down his friends' village. He had them arrested. He sent an army of 30 after them. And he showed no remorse. Link didn't see any reason no to cut his head off then.

But Link had an idea. "GET OUT!!!" he shouted. "You go back to the hole you came from. You won't have this man arrested. You won't have Pofrigitio arrested. When you get back, you tell everyone that the Kokiri 12 escaped. If you're punished, so be it. It's not like you don't deserve it. But if I ever, EVER, hear about you hunting down these or any other Kokiri, then I'LL BE BACK! And I won't be so easy on you. Now GO!!!" And Link put his sword away.

Diaphor couldn't say anything. He was defeated. His army had abandoned him and he lost to the Hero of Time. All he could do was look at the Kokiri 12 and leave them with his last words. "You stupid little brats! I hope you ROT!" And Diaphor left, never to be seen by the Kokiri 12 again.

The Kokiri 12 cheered and Link put his sword away.

"Wow, I didn't think it would end like that," said Pofrigitio. "I thought we'd have to fight off the entire army."

"Yeah," said Link. "It's a good thing you showed up, stranger." Link turned around, but only saw that the Hylian stranger had disappeared. The only thing left…was a note. Link picked it up and started reading:

**Dear Link,**

I've been watching Kakariko Village since before you arrived. I saw the Kokiri 12 get taken in and I grew angry. I am not a believer in persecuting Kokiri, I feel it is not right and it is not God's will. Then I saw the Kokiri 12 escape that night and didn't know where they'd go. I wanted to find them to make sure they're in good hands, but now I know that they couldn't be in better hands. I also know why you want the Kokiri 12 and I find it admirable. Not just because the Forest Temple might be the only place left, but because it finally gives Saria the reunion with her friends that she so desperately needs. I'd like nothing better than to see the look on Saria's face when she sees all her friends have come to stay. But I need to be getting back. Besides, I'll see Saria again in about a week. Good luck, Link. And God bless.

Post Rapture

_'Post Rapture?'_ Link thought. Was this the guy who kept Saria company in the temple? It was obviously too late to ask, but Link couldn't believe he didn't say anything. Link put the note in his pocket and hoped to see Post Rapture again someday. Link felt he owed a debt to him, not just because he prevented a potential disaster, but because he was the friend that Saria said helped get her through some lonely nights.

And now, with all possible threats eliminated, Link looked at the Kokiri 12. "Well, it's time to go."

The Kokiri 12 let out a cheer and began walking towards the shortcut to the Lost Woods.

  
Chapter 32  


It was already dark. It had been just minutes since Link, Pofrigitio, and the Kokiri 12 crossed the shortcut to the Lost Woods. As much as Link didn't want to stop, he knew that they all needed rest.

"Well," he told Pofrigitio. "Should we set up camp?"

"I guess so," he answered. "If anything, we'll just…be…h…"

Pofrigitio fell to his knees and began to cough violently. It like nothing like Link had ever seen except…for Sodo.

"Link!" Mido shouted. "You didn't bring the Hylian in here, did you?!"

It was true. None of the Kokiri 12 had seen Link bring in Pofrigitio. But what was wrong? What had Link done?

"Come on, Link," said Somi. "You can't tell me you've forgotten that every non-Kokiri who comes into the Lost Woods becomes a Stalfos. It's like the disease of the vastness, but for Hylians."

Link felt stupid. He had completely forgotten. But he couldn't just stand there. If he had to go to the Forest Temple and tell Saria he got her father killed, didn't matter if he wasn't really her father, she'd kill him. _'If she didn't kill herself first,'_ he thought. He had to do something.

That's when Sodo ran up to him with a red potion. "Quick! Give him this."

Link gave the potion to Pofrigitio, and almost immediately the coughing stopped. The potion must have had the same life-saving affect on Hylians, as it did on Kokiri.

"Po," Link began. "Are you ok?"

Po got to his feet. "I am now. Now I know how Saria felt all those times." He looked up at the sky. "Well, it's getting late. We'd better set up camp."

Link couldn't just shrug this off. "I'm sorry, Po. I had no idea. Maybe it's best if you just leave."

Po smiled. "I appreciate it, Link. But it's just for another few days. I think we have enough potion to last me a week."

Link wasn't convinced. "No, I insist. I can't risk your life like this."

Po's smile began to fade. "Please, Link. It may be the last time I come here. Please, just let me see Saria for one last time. You have no idea of the impact she had on our lives."

Link saw in Pofrigitio's eyes that he was making a plea. Link couldn't go against that. After all, he did owe him. "Ok. Just…have some of those potions nearby." And Link began to set up camp.

  
Chapter 33  


Pofrigitio and the Kokiri 12 were all asleep. The only one awake that night was Link. He couldn't wait to see the look on Saria's face. For the first time since becoming the Sage of the Forest, she'll truly be happy. While Link was sitting on a nearby log, he was approached by one of the Kokiri.

"Do you think she'll remember me?"

Link looked down to see Sodo. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she'll recognize everyone else. But what am I? All I did was guard the bridge day after day. I don't think she ever even noticed me."

Something hit Link. If Sodo thinks that Saria never noticed him, then she never expressed how she really felt about him. Link always knew Saria had a crush on Sodo, but he didn't know she never said anything. But more than that…

"Did you…have a crush on Saria?" Link asked.

Sodo looked shocked and nervous. "M-Me? Uh…Uh…"

Link smiled. "Come on, Sodo. You can tell me. Who am I going to tell?"

Sodo looked less flustered. "Y-Yeah. I guess I did."

Link wanted to see how he reacted to Saria having a crush on him too, and began to say something.

"But she never liked me," Sodo said, cutting him off. "I mean, there was one time that I tried to show her how I felt…and things…didn't exactly go as I planned."

"Really?" asked Link. He realized he was beginning to sound like Malon. "Why don't you tell me about it."

"Well," Sodo began. "It was a few weeks after a big wolfos attack we had…"

* * *

It began like a normal day for Sodo. He was guarding the bridge to the vastness, as usual. But he knew this day would be different. He had always had a crush on Saria, for the longest time. Well, he decided that today was the day. He didn't care what Mido did if he saw him leave his post. Today, he would leave something for Saria.

Sodo walked away from his post with something tucked away under his tunic. He made sure there was nobody looking around. The only one who could possibly catch him was Miso, who had to cut Saria's grass every day. Lucky for Sodo, Miso was asleep, so he quickly ran into Saria's house. He then took out what he had under his tunic. It was a bouquet of roses, with a card attached. He left it on the table where Saria would be sure to find it. He turned around to leave, but…

"MIDO!!! I can't believe you did this!!!"

It was Saria. And it looked like she and Mido were fighting. Sodo, knowing he had nowhere to go, quickly dove under Saria's bed and hoped he wouldn't be seen. He saw Mido and Saria come in. Saria had Link by the hand, and Link looked like he was covered in honey and bug bites.

"You can't possibly blame me for this," said Mido. "I tell you, the little shrimp fell and a jar of honey just happened to fall on him."

"Oh, yeah," Saria said sarcastically. "And a bunch of bugs just HAPPENED to be right there. Is that right, Mido?"

Mido got a smug grin. "There, now you're getting it."

Sodo could've sworn he saw the emerald girl's face turn beet red. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S GONNA GET IT, IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW!!!"

That was all Mido needed. He quickly ran out of the house. Sodo had never seen Mido run that fast before.

Sodo was desperate to find a way out, but couldn't. He then saw Saria approach her table and take the flowers. He could hardly contain himself as he saw Saria take the card and start reading it:

**To my shimmering emerald, I give these roses. So that she may see that the size of this forest is nothing in comparison to the magnitude of her beauty.**

A Secret Admirer

Sodo wanted to come out right at that moment, but what he saw almost broke his heart. Saria wasn't getting flattered, she was getting angry. She stormed out of her house and Sodo saw that as his opening to get out before he was seen. As he left the house, he could see Saria approaching Mido who was standing in front of his house.

"You have some nerve!" she shouted. "You do all you can to torment Link and think that a few flowers and a couple of cheap romantic one-liners are going to make it all better?! Well, you can keep these flowers Mr. Secret Admirer, because love stinks and so do you!" She threw the flowers into Mido's mouth and ran off.

Mido took the bouquet out of his mouth. "What did I do?" he asked naively.

Sodo's heart was broken. He tried to give Saria a gift from his heart and she thought it was from Mido. Even worse, she basically declared that love stinks. So why would she want to love him? Sodo dejectedly went back to his post guarding the bridge a broken Kokiri.

* * *

"See?" Sodo asked. "She wouldn't like me. Since that day, I kept my crush on Saria a secret. I mean, there's no way in the world she'd like me."

Link tried to hold it in, he really did. But he couldn't. He started laughing. The fact that Saria and Sodo liked each other for so long and neither of them knew about it…well, Link found that kind of funny.

Sodo didn't. "What are you laughing at? See, I knew it. I knew it wasn't possible. Just the thought of Saria liking someone like me, and you just start laughing."

Link slowly stopped laughing. He unknowingly hurt the peaceful boy's feelings. "No, no. I wasn't laughing because of that. I was just laughing because…" Link began chuckling again.

Sodo frowned. "What? What?"

Link stopped chuckling and continued. "Well, because when I talked to Saria…she told me that she had a crush...ON YOU!"

Sodo wasn't convinced. "Come on. You're just trying to make me feel better."

"No, it's true. She really does like you."

"How can I believe that."

"I'll bet the ranch on it. I'll bet my sword on it. I'd even bet my ocarina on it…if I had one."

It looked like Link was beginning to win Sodo over. "You really mean it?" the peaceful boy asked.

"Of course I do. Just ask her. Trust me, you'll have plenty of time."

Sodo smiled. "Thanks, Link. You have no idea how good that makes me feel. Well I better go to sleep. Good night."

Link was beginning to feel a little sleepy himself. "Good night, Sodo." Link laid down on the grass near the log and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.

  
Chapter 34  


It was a storm. The rains began to pour down. Trees were blowing to one side. Lightning was shooting down from the clouds up above. It was another lonely night in the Forest Temple. And again Saria sat on the bridge. She was crying her eyes out, not only because she thought her friends were dead, but because the one she had raised had broken his promise.

"You promised, Link," she said sadly. "You promised you'd be back. But you broke your promise. And I honestly can't blame you. Who would want to see me? I'm just one Kokiri." She stood up and began to look down on the ground 70 feet below her and looked up at the heavens. "This was just a cruel joke. I took this life for my friends and they're dead. And I'm here, never to be seen by anyone I loved ever again. To be an eternal recluse. Well, no more. It ends NOW!!!"

She looked down…and jumped. Then everything went black.

* * *

Link woke up in a cold sweat. _'No, no, **NO!** Not again!!!'_ he thought. Link told Saria not to jump again. He told her that he'd be back in…Then it hit Link. It hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Pofrigitio, wake up!" he shouted to the potion shop owner.

"Link…" Po said half asleep. "It's still the middle of the night…what…"

"Po," Link said cutting him off. "What day is it?"

"It's Friday," he answered.

Link went to see Saria last Tuesday. He had broken his promise and wasn't even aware of it. And in the state she was in…

"Why'd you want to know, Link?"

Link didn't answer. He just immediately began grabbing his most essential supplies. He had to leave immediately.

"Link?" Pofrigitio asked. "What are you doing?"

"I've got to get to the temple, now!" he said in a panic. "I can't waste a second."

"Link, what about us?" asked Po.

"They'll know where it is," Link answered. "Take them in the morning. I have to go now!"

"But Link…"

Link tossed Pofrigitio a rope. "Use this rope to help them climb up to the temple. It's pretty high." Link was ready. He just needed to go.

"But Link…what'll I tell the others?"

"Tell them I've gone ahead. I'll be ok. But I need to go NOW!!!"

Link didn't even look back. He immediately started running as fast as he could. He knew he couldn't waste a second. Link's had many visions lately. Whether they were visions of the past or the future, they were never wrong. He knew that he couldn't risk being a second too late. Link sprinted through each tunnel, having memorized the way to the Sacred Forest Meadow. He ran past menacing deku scrubs as fast as lightning. He had nearly stumbled many times trying to run up the long flight of stairs. He quickly unleashed his hookshot and shot his way up to the temple. Link ran through each room until he got up to the second floor and to the door that leads to the bridge. Link couldn't get the knob, so he just kicked the door down. And again he saw Saria…ready to jump.

  
Chapter 35  


Saria had given up on everything. She gave up all hope of seeing her friends. She gave up all hope of having a night where she wouldn't be alone in the rain. And after three days, she gave up all hope of ever seeing Link again. She looked down at the ground 70 feet below her. There would be no holding back this time. She closed her eyes and jumped.

And when she did jump, she felt another arm grab her own. She opened her eyes and saw Link. It was the second time now that Link arrived in the nick of time to prevent her from committing suicide. When Link pulled her up, the Forest Sage saw many emotions on his face. There was anger, confusion, and sadness. She also saw he was exhausted. More so than last time. It was almost as if he'd been running for a long period of time. After many awkward moments of silence, Link finally spoke.

"Saria…no, NO! You promised you wouldn't do this again!"

Saria only frowned. "I…I…really thought you weren't coming back. I guess five years in this place, and you begin to get the idea that nobody cares about you."

"S-Saria," Link said, still on his knees catching his breath. "Don't y-you see that I care about you? You're my best friend!!!"

Saria began to realize the potency of what she was about to do. "I-I know you do, Link. But you have your own life now. A life where you can spread your wings and fly like the bird you always wanted to be. Don't ground yourself on the count of me. My life's over."

Link put a hand on her shoulder. "No, it isn't."

Saria was getting frustrated. "Yes, it is! You don't understand! How could you understand?! I took this life to save all my friends! So that they can live their lives peacefully! I gave my life for that! But that was all a hoax! It was a cruel joke! Just because I took this life of eternal solitude, didn't mean that they couldn't be killed or be taken as slaves! I made no difference!"

"Yes, you did," Link said softly. "You helped defeat Ganondorf. You helped save Hyrule."

Saria wasn't convinced. "Yeah and what then? If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. I did it because I thought it's what was best for the village. But now, I don't even know if they're alive or dead!"

Saria puts her head on Link's shoulder and began to weep bitterly. Having to face this reality over and over made her sick.

"But I do."

Saria put her head up. What had she just heard Link say? Did he know how everyone at the village was? "What do you mean?"

Link turned around. "Let's go down to the main chamber. And I'll tell you everything.

  
Chapter 36  


Saria couldn't believe it. She had spent five years in the Forest Temple wondering how her friends were. There was no way she could find out, because she could never leave the temple. But Link knew. He had actually gone to village to find out.

Saria's eyes lit up. "Well? How are they? How's the village?"

Saria saw a frown cross Link's face and she didn't like it. She had a feeling the news wasn't good.

"The village…" Link began. "…has been destroyed. An army of Hylians invaded and set fire to everything. The homes, the trees, and even the Deku Tree was destroyed. There's nothing left."

Saria's heart broke. Her worst fears had been confirmed. The life she took as the Forest Sage didn't make a difference. Her home, the only home she ever knew, was gone. And most likely, her friends with it. Tears began to stream down her face. No wonder Link wanted her down in the main chamber. Had she heard this on the bridge, she would have jumped, Link or no Link.

She buried her hands in her face. "Oh, Link…NO!!!"

Link tried to comfort her. "Saria, it's ok. Really."

Saria wouldn't listen. "No, it's not! This is exactly what I feared would happen! I became the Forest Sage, but did it matter in the end?! NO! They're dead! They're all dead! I'm the only one left! Why couldn't you just leave me up there?! Why couldn't you JUST…LET…ME…DIE?!?!"

"Because I couldn't take that, Saria."

Saria raised her head. That wasn't Link. That was someone…familiar. _'That voice,'_ she thought. _'It couldn't be…'_

Someone stepped from the light that led outside the Forest Temple. Saria could hardly believe it. She couldn't believe but it was.

"SODO!"

She immediately ran up to the young peaceful boy and hugged him as hard as she could.

"I-I can't believe you're here," she said in a cracked voice. "I thought you were dead."

"Actually, we thought YOU were dead."

That was another voice. Saria remembered it, but she couldn't believe it. Someone else stepped from the light.

"SOMI!"

Saria ran up to her best friend and gave her a hug just as big as the one she gave Sodo.

"But…" she began. "How did you guys know I was here."

"Link told us."

It was a different voice. It was Mido. He stepped in from the light, followed by nine other figures. It was the rest of the village. They were all alive!

Saria couldn't contain herself. "MIDO! MISO! FALA! RALO! RALA! DOMI! SOFA! DILA! DORE! MIRA! You're all here!!!" She ran towards the ten other Kokiri and began hugging them all. They could barely contain themselves either.

"We missed you so much!"

"It hasn't been the same without you!"

"We're so happy to see you!"

"It's been such a long time!"

Saria looked over the crowd of Kokiri and noticed Link was walking out. "Link, WAIT!!"

Saria walked over to Link. She didn't know what to say. But it was Link who spoke first.

"Saria, there's one more person who wants to see you. He wants to say goodbye."

Another man stepped in from the light. It was a Hylian. _'Oh My God!'_ Saria thought.

It was Pofrigitio. "Hello, Saria."

Saria didn't know what to say. After all that had just happened, she was speechless. There was only one word to come out of her mouth. "D-Daddy?"

"I-I just had to come see you one last time," Po said. "I just wanted to see how you were."

Saria still couldn't believe it. It had to be a dream. "I'm…fine. I am now, anyway."

Po smiled. "You have no idea how much joy it brings me to hear that." Po looked around. "Saria, you have no idea how much pain it brought me to hear that you became the Forest Sage. Because I knew what kind of life it would offer. One of loneliness. One of solitude. But I realized that you were aware of that as well. But you didn't care. You were willing to give yourself, your life, for your friends and for all of us. To make the decision you made took a lot of courage, and I am so proud of you."

Saria's face began to fill with tears again. But these were no longer tears of pain. These were tears of joy. Then Saria saw Pofrigitio pull something out. It was a green necklace with an emerald.

"I want you to have this, Saria. It's something the family made, in case we ever got a chance to see you again. Please keep it, to remember me, your mother, and your sister."

Saria took the necklace and put it on. It was so beautiful. "T-Thank you…daddy."

Saria then looked at Link. "And thank you Link. Thank you both. You don't know how much this means to me."

Link and Pofrigitio smiled warmly. "It's ok, Saria," Link said. "All that matters now, is that you're happy. And you'll never be alone again." Link and Po began to leave. "I'll be around, Saria. I'll come by and visit you all someday."

Saria liked that and it kind of had a hard time sinking in. It was over. Five years of loneliness have all ended. Her friends were here to stay. As Link and Pofrigitio climbed down, Saria looked back to see the Kokiri 12. Her life had been restored. She would never be lonely again.

  
Conclusion  


Link had a warm feeling in his heart as he finished climbing down. Yeah, when he got back to the ranch, Malon would throttle him for being so late. But he had done the ultimate act of kindness for his best friend. He had brought Saria the eternal company she wanted. And he had taken the Kokiri 12 to a safe place where cretins, like Diaphor, would never be able to reach them. He began walking out when…

"Link, look!" Pofrigitio screamed.

Link turned around near the stump in which Saria would always play her ocarina. There was something new there. 'No,' he thought. _'It can't be. It's impossible!'_ But it was. It was a Deku Tree sprout. Link couldn't explain it, but a guardian Deku Tree sprout had emerged in the Sacred Forest Meadow.

Link could only assume one thing. "It's a miracle." Link marveled at the Deku Tree Sprout for a while and turned around to leave.

"Link, UP HERE!"

Link turned back around and looked up at the entrance to the Forest Temple. It was Saria and the other Kokiri 12. They had all taken out their ocarinas.

"Ok, everybody. 1, 2, 3…"

And the thirteen Kokiri all began playing their ocarinas. It was a song of farewell and thanksgiving that they were playing for Link and Pofrigitio. Link almost shed a tear at this touching scene. He knew that the temple in itself was an eyesore. But with the Kokiri 12 now being a united family of 13, he knew that they would bring happiness to the temple. And Saria, the shimmering emerald, would never be lonely again.

  


Comments? Please review below. My creative juices never flowed like this. Please review below or send any comments to HyruleKokiri13@hotmail.com


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